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the  FA  HM 

PAV 


C.CBOWSFIEL 


MAKING  THE  FARM  PAY 


MAKING  THE  FARM  PAY 


BY 


C.  C.  BOWSFIELD 


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>  > » 


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CHICAGO 

FORBES  &  COMPANY 
1913 


COPYRIGHT,      1913,      BY 
FORBES  AND   COMPANY 


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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Modern  Farmer's  Opportunity 9 

One  of  the  Great  Questions  of  the  Day 12 

Arguments  for  Diversified  Farming. .  .    16 

Farming  More  Profitable  Than  Ever 20 

Aim  to  Get  Above  the  Average 25 

City  Men  Succeed  on  Farms 29 

Results  Which  May  Be  Attained 33 

Succession  Crops  Feasible 38 

Earning  Capacity  of  Land  Requires  Study 40 

Learn  How  to  Go  Back  to  the  Land 46 

Avoid  the  Single  Farming  Interest 51 

Getting  the  Most  Out  of  an  Acre 53 

Plans  to  Keep  Young  People  Interested 57 

Profit  Sharing  with  Fruit  and  Vegetables 64 

New  Vocation  for  the  City  Family 66 

Good  Selling  Is  a  Farmer's  Need 7° 

Parcels  Post  Brings  Dinner  Fresh  from  Farm ....  77 

Soil  Improvement  and  More  Profitable  Farming .  .  80 

Soil  Conservation  Easy  to  Understand 86 

Lime  as  an  Adjunct  in  Farming 88 

Phosphorus  as  a  Soil  Preserver 9° 


272034 


6  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Making  the  Most  of  Manure 93 

Growing  Legumes  for  Soil  Betterment 96 

Large  Profits  in  Potatoes 102 

Growing  Sweet  Potatoes  in  the  North 106 

Money  Making  from  Pork 108 

Making  a  Dairy  Farm  Pay 114 

Forage  Problem  Demands  Attention 117 

Cows  Kept  at  a  Loss 124 

Importance  of  Cow  Testing  Associations 127 

Dairy  By-Products  Are  Important 130 

How  to  Obtain  a  Good  Stand  of  Corn 134 

The  Culture  of  Broomcorn 139 

The  Sugar  Beet  Industry 142 

Irrigation  by  Wells  Profitable 148 

Advantages  of  Concrete  on  Farms 151 

Important  Points  in  Building  Silos 155 

Chance  for  Big  Profits  in  Novelties 1S9 

Pin  Money  in  Pickles 164 

The  Lowly  Onion  a  Profitable  Crop 168 

Give  More  Attention  to  Fruit 171 

Care  and  Skin  in  the  Orchard 176 

Common  Fruits  Return  Liberal  Profits 179 

Fruit  Raising  Suited  to  Amateurs 183 

Small  Fruits  Pay  Well 187 

Have  Early  and  Late  Strawberries 192 

Commercial  Handling  of  Strawberries 196 


CONTENTS  7 

PAGE 

Thorough  Cultivation  Makes  Gardening  Pay 200 

Practical  Study  of  Gardening 204 

Commercial  Value  of  Garden  Flowers 214 

Making  and  Care  of  Hotbeds  and  Coldframes ....   221 

War  on  Field  and  Garden  Pests 225 

Enemies  of  the  Corn  Crop 232 

Wealth  in  Honey  Under  Skillful  Management.  .  .   235 

Care  and  Marketing  of  Extracted  Honey 241 

Management  the  Key  to  Poultry  Success 244 

Winter  Egg  Production 249 

Egg  Type  in  Hens 252 

Preservation  of  Eggs  Until  Prices  Advance 256 

Favorite  Breeds  of  Ducks 259 

Disease  Injuring  Turkey-Raising  Industry 263 

Parasites  Cause  Heavy  Poultry  Losses 266 

Poultry  Diseases  and  Remedies 270 

Useful  Hints  for  Everyday  Farm  Life 275 

Dates  for  Planting  Vegetables 291 

Insecticides  and  Fungicides 293 

Fertilizers  for  Farm  and  Garden 295 

Index 297 


I 


MAKING  THE  FARM  PAY 


The  Modern  Farmer's  Opportunity 

Modern  farming,  as  the  author  views  the  subject,  re- 
quires varied  information  as  well  as  unflagging  zeal  and 
industry.  It  needs  the  application  of  commercial  ideas. 
Real  success  in  agriculture  can  only  be  attained  by  keep- 
ing up  with  changing  conditions  and  developing  a  well- 
balanced  business  programme  to  go  with  the  tilling  of 
the  soil. 

The  average  land  owner,  or  the  old-fashioned  farmer, 
as  he  is  sometimes  referred  to,  has  a  great  deal  of  prac- 
tical knowledge,  and  yet  is  deficient  in  some  of  the  most 
salient  requirements.  He  may  know  how  to  produce  a 
good  crop  and  not  know  how  to  sell  it  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. No  citizen  surpasses  him  in  the  skill  and  in- 
dustry with  which  he  performs  his  labor,  but  in  many 
cases  his  time  is  frittered  away  with  the  least  profitable 
of  products,  while  he  overlooks  opportunities  to  meet  a 
constant  market  demand  for  articles  which  return  large 
profits. 

Worse  than  this,  he  follows  a  method  which  turns  agri- 
cultural work  into  drudgery,  and  his  sons  and  daughters 
forsake  the  farm  home  as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough 
to  assert  a  little  independence.  At  this  point  the  greatest 
failures  are  to  be  recorded.  A  situation  has  developed  as  a 
result  of  these  existing  conditions  in  the  country  which  is 
a  serious  menace  to  American  society.  The  farmers  are 
deprived  of  the  earnest,  intelligent  help  which  naturally 

9 


10  THE  MODERN  FARMER'S  OPPORTUNITY 

belongs  to  them,  rural  society  loses  one  of  its  best  ele- 
ments, the  cities  are  overcrowded  and  all  parties  at  in- 
terest are  losers.    The  nation  itself  is  injured. 

Farm  life  need  not  be  more  irksome  than  clerking  or 
running  a  typewriter.  It  ought  to  be  made  much  more 
attractive  and  it  can  also  be  vastly  more  profitable  than 
it  is.  Better  homes  and  more  social  enjoyment,  with 
greater  contentment  and  happiness,  will  come  to  dwellers 
in  the  country  when  they  grasp  the  eternal  truth  that  they 
have  the  noblest  vocation  on  earth  and  one  that  may  be 
made  to  yield  an  income  fully  as  large  as  that  of  the  aver- 
age city  business  man. 

This  whole  subject  of  making  agriculture  more  profit- 
able and  enjoyable  is  approached  in  a  spirit  of  sympathy. 
The  author  resides  on  a  farm  and  has  long  been  a  land 
owner.  He  knows  the  difference  between  book  farming 
and  the  actual  work  of  tilling  the  soil  or  taking  care  of 
live  stock.  No  one  appreciates  more  fully  than  he  what 
a  great  fund  of  information  a  person  must  possess  to  be 
even  an  ordinary  farmer.  As  a  rule  people  who  dwell  in 
the  country  are  also  well  posted  on  political  affairs  and 
are  patriotic  citizens.  They  are  above  the  average  in 
these  respects. 

In  the  effort  to  show  that  farmers  are  lacking  in  com- 
mercial skill  it  is  permissible  to  repeat  that  they  are  the 
only  business  people  who  have  nothing  to  say  either  in  fix- 
ing the  prices  which  they  get  for  their  own  goods  or  which 
they  pay  for  other  people's.  This  want  of  market  ability 
is  a  result  of  their  isolated  life  and  the  old  method  of 
raising  a  single  crop,  such  as  wheat  or  corn.  With  steady 
improvement  in  transportation  facilities  and  other  mod- 
ern conveniences  there  will  come  greater  diversity  in  agri- 
culture and  a  general  betterment  in  rural  affairs.  The 
tiller  of  the  soil  will  be  a  business  man,  who  will  not  only 
devote  his  land  to  products  which  naturally  pay  best, 
but  who  will  have  something  to  say  about  price  making. 


THE  MODERN  FARMER'S  OPPORTUNITY  H 

Prices  of  agricultural  commodities  are  now  on  such  a 
high  level  that  land  owners  may  enter  upon  a  period  of 
money  making.  It  is  not  true,  however,  that  farmers 
are  to  any  great  extent  responsible  for  the  high  cost  of 
living.  Producers  are  not  overpaid.  High  prices  are 
mainly  due  to  business  conditions  for  which  people  in  the 
rural  districts  have  no  responsibility.  Consumers  are 
at  the  mercy  of  a  system  which  involves  unreasonable 
expense  and  too  many  middlemen. 

It  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  farmers,  however,  to 
have  the  expense  of  handling  agricultural  commodities 
lessened.  They  may  help  toward  the  attainment  of  this 
end  by  adopting  better  methods  of  marketing  than  now 
prevail.  Consumers  as  well  as  themselves  would  benefit 
by  such  a  movement. 

This  book  is  published  in  the  hope  of  assisting  farmers 
to  improve  their  position.  There  is  a  widespread  and  in- 
telligent movement  toward  more  diversified  and  intensive 
farming,  which  I  heartily  endorse.  By  this  system  the 
farm  can  be  made  to  pay  better  than  it  does,  because  it 
aims  at  greater  production  on  each  acre  cultivated  and 
at  meeting  special  market  requirements.  The  one  great 
point  in  commercial  farming  is  to  produce  those  articles 
which  pay  best. 

There  is  a  continual  and  expanding  market  for  numer- 
ous products  that  are  easily  raised,  and  which,  by  their 
very  diversity,  are  a  guarantee  against  failure.  The 
market  has  never  been  oversupplied  with  fruits,  broilers, 
mushrooms,  honey,  squabs,  berries  and  the  like.  There 
is  the  keenest  sort  of  demand  today  all  over  the  country 
for  extra  nice  butter,  eggs  and  poultry.  The  need  of 
parsnips,  beets,  carrots,  lettuce,  cucumbers,  beans  and 
other  kinds  of  vegetables  is  incessant,  and  in  all  of  these 
lines  there  is  a  profit  far  exceeding  that  gained  from 
large  single  crops  or  big  dairies. 


One  of  the  Great  Questions  of  the  Day 

In  common  with  thousands  of  others  I  am  strongly 
impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  subject  of  better  farm- 
ing in  America  is  the  most  important  now  occupying  the 
attention  of  the  commercial  world.  By  better  farming 
is  meant  a  system  that  will  produce  larger  profits  and 
an  easier  living  for  those  who  till  the  soil,  as  well  as  a 
greater  acreage  production. 

In  discussing  this  subject  I  have  in  mind  these  salient 
propositions:  Farmers  who  are  not  capitalists  occupy 
too  much  land.  They  would  do  better  farming  and 
attain  better  results  on  smaller  tracts.  The  little  farm 
requires  less  drudgery  than  the  large  one. 

It  affords  a  more  enjoyable  existence  and  tends  to  stim- 
ulate the  interest  of  the  young  people  in  progressive 
agriculture.  To  reduce  the  size  of  farms  will  make  it 
easier  for  poor  men  to  acquire  land,  consequently  the 
number  of  owners  must  increase. 

With  more  owners  and  renewed  interest,  our  rural 
population  will  be  augmented.  By  increasing  the  pro- 
duction of  commodities  per  acre,  we  will  have  heavier  ex- 
ports, and  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  will  be  enhanced. 
These  considerations  are  worthy  of  our  attention  and 
highest  intelligence. 

The  little-farm  proposition  is  appealingly  strong,  both 
to  the  man  in  the  country  and  the  resident  of  the  city.  It 
is,  in  fact,  the  hope  of  the  American  farmer,  and  of  the 
business  world  today.  Through  this  modern  system  the 
rural  family  is  to  escape  much  of  its  drudgery,  and  the 
city  family  is  to  obtain  commodities  at  lower  prices.  By 
the  new  method  of  intensive  and  diversified  agriculture, 

12 


ONE  OF  THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS       13 

country  life  is  to  become  easier  and  more  attractive, 
both  to  the  young  and  to  the  old. 

Big  farms  are  all  right  for  those  who  are  equipped  to 
handle  them  properly,  but  they  are  not  desirable  for  peo- 
ple who  have  not  capital  enough  to  hire  plenty  of  help, 
and  organize  in  a  businesslike  way,  to  secure  good  re- 
sults. 

It  is  the  evolution  that  bothers  the  average  farmer. 
How  can  he  make  the  change  without  losses?  If  he  sells 
off  half  his  land  to  enable  him  to  farm  in  the  modern, 
intensive  fashion,  has  he  any  guarantee  that  he  will  not 
fail  in  this,  and  so  find  himself  at  the  end  of  a  few  years, 
minus  both  land  and  capital? 

He  can  best  satisfy  himself  on  this  point  by  making 
an  easy  comparison  of  crop  values.  Such  a  comparison 
will  startle  some  of  the  old-fashioned  agriculturists, 
who  persist  in  running  large  farms  on  the  one  crop  idea. 

It  requires  methodical  work  and  business  methods  to 
make  any  kind  of  a  farm  pay.  As  land  increases  in 
value  the  person  with  limited  means  will  have  to  be  con- 
tented with  a  small  tract,  and  he  must  learn  his  business 
so  well  that  a  few  acres  will  yield  enough  for  a  living. 
Better  farming  is  the  need  of  the  hour. 

The  soil  should  be  so  handled  that  it  will  produce  twice 
as  much  as  it  has  in  the  past.  Otherwise  this  nation  will 
become  an  importer  of  foodstuffs  instead  of  an  exporter. 
The  importance  of  diversified  farming  and  intelligent 
agriculture  cannot  be  overestimated. 

It  has  been  shown  by  competent  authorities  that  the 
wheat  crop  of  the  country  returns  an  average  profit  of 
much  less  than  $10  per  acre.  In  fact,  many  people  agree 
that  when  the  expense  of  equipment,  the  value  of  the 
land,  the  cost  of  seed,  and  the  worth  of  labor  are  con- 
sidered, there  is  no  profit  whatever  in  raising  wheat. 

The  American  farmer,  as  a  rule,  does  not  count  his 


14       ONE  OF  THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS 

own  time,  the  value  of  his  land,  or  the  cost  of  his  horses 
and  machinery,  in  estimating  his  profits  on  grain. 

If  he  has  a  crop  of  ioo  acres  of  wheat  that  will  clear 
$500  for  him  after  reckoning  the  value  of  seed,  the  cost 
of  help  and  the  expense  of  threshing,  he  puts  it  down  at 
$500  profit,  though  he  has  put  most  of  his  year's  time 
into  it,  besides  maintaining  the  land  and  an  equipment  of 
horses  and  machinery  worth  several  hundred  dollars. 

The  following  table  showing  the  relative  value  of  crops 
is  based  on  my  own  experience : 

Gross  Net 

Wheat  per  acre   $  15.00 $    8.00 

Field-corn    30.00 20.00 

Sweet  potatoes   150.00 110.00 

Potatoes  125.00 75-oo 

Onions    250.00 150.00 

Cucumbers    200.00 1 50.00 

Strawberries    300.00 200.00 

Cherries    200.00 150.00 

Apples    250.00 200.00 

Clover   25.00 20.00 

Alfalfa   45-oo 30.00 

Timothy   20.00 15.00 

Millet    25.00 20.00 

Live  stock  and  dairying  can  be  figured  on  the  acreage 
basis,  just  as  easily  as  grain  or  fruit.  If  a  farmer  with 
50  acres  handles  25  cows  and  clears  $1,000  after  paying 
for  help,  his  net  profit  is  $20  per  acre. 

A  man  with  20  acres  can  easily  handle  100  hogs  a  year, 
which  will  net  $1,000  to  $1,500.  A  profit  of  $10  per  head, 
or  $1,000,  is  $50  per  acre.  This  is  at  least  treble  as  much 
as  can  be  made  from  grain,  and  the  work  is  a  great  deal 
less. 

If  the  small  farm  will  serve  to  render  rural  life  more 
attractive,    shorten     the    workday    and    arouse    interest 


ONE  OF  THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  15 

among  the  young  people,  it  is  the  right  system  for  the 
average  person  to  adopt.  If  it  will  keep  the  young  folk 
away  from  the  cities  and  make  them  love  their  homes, 
it  beats  the  old  method  immeasurably. 

Furthermore,  if  these  results  are  accomplished,  the 
help  question  will  no  longer  be  a  serious  one.  To  gain 
so  much  is  worth  the  best  efforts  of  the  American 
farmer. 

With  the  ordinary  family  no  help  is  needed  on  a  little 
farm  except  where  there  is  a  considerable  crop  of  fruit 
or  vegetables,  for  which  there  is  a  ready  cash  return 
sufficient  to  meet  the  expenses  of  operation. 

The  old  method  is  driving  young  people  away  from 
the  farm  and  it  has  become  next  to  impossible  to  keep 
hired  help.  Men  will  not  work  on  a  farm  when  they 
come  to  understand  that  they  can  get  employment  in 
town  or  on  the  railroad  at  higher  wages  and  with  shorter 
days.  Nine  or  ten  hours  a  day  will  not  do  on  the  old- 
fashioned  farm.  It  is  fourteen  or  more  and  seven  days  in 
the  week  at  that.  The  average  in  the  city,  taking  all 
classes  of  employment  together,  is  about  nine  hours. 

Then  again,  clerkships  are  very  alluring  to  boys  and 
girls,  especially  after  they  have  had  a  taste  of  farm  life, 
where  the  family  labors  from  daylight  to  dark.  Under 
existing  conditions  it  has  come  about  that  the  farmer 
finds  himself,  in  many  cases,  without  hired  help  or  the  as- 
sistance which  is  ordinarily  expected  from  his  sons  and 
daughters. 


Arguments  for  Diversified  Farming 

Farming  is  becoming  a  more  serious  proposition  year  by 
year.  A  long  succession  of  drouths  in  certain  localities 
and  the  consequent  waste  of  a  large  acreage  are  forcing 
landowners  to  consider  crop  diversity. 

The  one  weak  spot  in  modern  farming  is  the  disposi- 
tion to  do  big  things  with  a  single  interest,  such  as 
wheat  raising  or  dairying.  When  there  is  a  failure  either 
through  seasonal  causes  or  accident,  the  loss  is  heavy, 
discouraging,  disastrous.  The  growing  cost  of  land  and 
labor  and  the  increasing  importance  of  the  farmer's  time 
cry  out  against  the  single  crop  idea. 

I  am  confident  that  those  who  have  in  large  part  lost 
their  wheat  crops  through  drouth  will  give  attention  to 
my  plea  for  a  greater  diversification  on  all  farms. 

Milk  producers  whose  pastures  are  dried  up  by  the 
intense  heat  of  summer  are  also  likely  to  be  ready 
listeners.  Furthermore,  the  young  farmer  and  the 
student  of  agriculture  who  are  observing  the  conditions 
described  must  soon  reach  the  conclusion  that  it  is  bad 
policy  to  depend  on  a  single  crop. 

While  grain  raising  is  an  attractive  scheme  when 
figured  on  the  basis  of  a  dollar  a  bushel  and  twenty 
bushels  an  acre,  it  never  has  been  a  safe  proposition  for 
the  person  of  limited  capital.  Capitalists  in  many  cases 
have  made  it  profitable,  because  through  operating  ex- 
tensively the  acreage  cost  is  reduced  and  they  are  able  to 
wait  a  year  or  two  for  profits. 

There  are  also  numerous  instances  of  men  of  small 
means  being  fortunate  enough  to  escape  droughts  and 
other  destructive  agencies  and  gaining  substantial  returns 

16 


ARGUMENTS  FOR  DIVERSIFIED  FARMING        17 

from  a  wheat  crop  of  one  or  two  hundred  acres.  This 
does  not  prove  it  a  safe  enterprise,  however.  It  is  always 
hazardous;  always  more  or  less  of  a  gamble.  I  am  allud- 
ing, of  course,  to  non-irrigated  lands. 

Within  the  range  of  my  own  experience  and  observa- 
tion a  farmer  with  200  acres  feels  that  he  is  doing  well 
when  he  clears  $500  to  $1,000  a  year  either  from  grain 
or  a  dairy.  How  many  can  show  this  profit,  either  in 
cash  savings  or  substantial  improvements? 

The  man  on  such  a  tract  of  land  who  produces  for 
market  100  hogs,  20  beeves,  200  sheep,  500  chickens  and 
a  variety  of  vegetables,  with  a  small  grain  crop,  will 
double  discount  the  exclusive  wheat  grower.  Instead  of 
risking  his  year's  time  and  his  whole  investment  on  one 
product  he  divides  his  risks  into  eight  or  ten  parts.  There- 
fore, if  his  grain  is  a  failure  he  can  stand  the  loss  be- 
cause he  has  various  other  interests  to  fall  back  on.  If 
he  has  bad  luck  with  his  hogs  and  chickens,  he  still  has 
an  assured  income  from  many  other  sources.  ^. 

Another  almost   equally   important  point   is   the   dis-   ty 
tribution  of  labor  over  the  year.     The  extra  labor  re- 
quired during  seeding  and  harvest  on  a  grain  farm  eats  a 
big  hole  in  the  ordinary  profits. 

When  one  considers  the  teams  and  machinery  involved, 
together  with  the  upkeep,  it  becomes  doubtful  whether 
there  is  any  actual  profit  in  wheat  raising.  The  invest- 
ment in  land,  teams,  machinery  and  labor  is  substantially 
the  same  whether  the  yield  is  ten  bushels  or  twenty. 

With  the  other  principle  established,  the  amount  of 
labor  required  is  pretty  much  the  same  at  one  time  of 
the  year  as  another.  Nobody  knows  better  than  the 
farmer  how  vexatious  and  costly  the  uncertainty  of  labor 
has  become. 

I  claim  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction  that 
the  farmer  who  diversifies  his  products  will  accomplish 
more  on  one  hundred  acres  than  a  grain  grower  or  milk 


18        ARGUMENTS  FOR  DIVERSIFIED  FARMING 

producer  will  on  two  hundred.  For  an  illustration  I  will 
give  a  list  of  products  which  come  within  the  capacity  of 
ioo  acres  in  a  season. 

ioo  hogs  $1,500 

20  beeves    1,200 

200  sheep   1 ,400 

1  span  horses 350 

500  chickens 300 

Eggs    250 

1,000  bushels  potatoes   500 

Total    $5,500 

The  intelligent  farmer  can  decide  for  himself  whether 
it  is  possible  or  not  to  raise  the  fodder  for  this  amount 
of  stock  on  100  acres,  and  whether  any  figures  given  are 
unreasonable.  About  $1,000  must  be  deducted  from  the 
gross  amount  for  labor,  and  the  help  should  be  the  same 
throughout  the  year.  The  program  can  be  varied  to 
suit  tastes  and  conditions.  A  few  acres  might  be  de- 
voted to  strawberries,  cherries,  apples,  sweetcorn,  cucum- 
bers, cabbage,  etc. 

There  is  immense  profit  in  these  lighter  crops,  and  the 
acreage  is  so  small,  comparatively,  that  in  a  drought  it  is 
possible  to  save  the  product  with  well  or  slough  water. 
There  is  a  constant  demand  for  fruit  and  vegetables  at 
fair  prices.  This  is  also  the  case  in  regard  to  poultry  and 
eggs. 

Diversified  farming  cannot  be  carried  on  without  intel- 
ligent effort.  There  is  no  end  to  the  work,  but  even  in 
this  respect  it  beats  a  dairy,  and  for  a  certainty  it  makes 
for  smaller  investment,  less  risk,  and  greater  chance  to 
take  advantage  of  market  conditions. 

Fruit  raising  and  mixed  farming  make  a  good  combina- 
tion. The  wheat  is  in  the  bins  and  the  corn  in  the  shocks 
or  silos  by  the  time  the  apples  are  ripe  and  fit  for  harvest. 


ARGUMENTS  FOR  DIVERSIFIED  FARMING        19 

Dairy  farming  and  stock  growing  form  an  excellent 
combination,  and  one  that  will  improve  the  fertility  of 
the  farm.  Dairying  and  potato  growing  make  another 
good  combination.  The  potatoes  may  be  grown  in  the 
same  rotation  of  crops  that  is  practised  in  growing  food 
for  the  dairy  cattle.  The  work  may  be  done  with  the 
same  help  that  is  required  to  care  for  the  dairy,  and 
very  little  horsepower  is  needed  to  handle  the  additional 
crop. 

Take  the  ordinary  crops  of  corn  and  wheat  as  ex- 
amples. The  western  farmer  who  grows  a  large  acreage 
of  corn  and  wheat  finds  he  must  plant  his  corn  early  and 
push  its  cultivation  so  as  to  have  it  well  out  of  the  way 
by  the  time  the  wheat  is  ready  to  harvest.  Late  planted 
corn  and  wheat  need  attention  at  the  same  time,  and  one 
or  the  other  must  suffer. 

A  second  consideration  in  diversified  farming  should 
be  to  grow  a  rational  rotation  of  crops,  a  rotation  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  live  stock,  and  one  that  will  not 
diminish  the  fertility  of  the  soil  for  future  crops.  Corn, 
wheat  and  clover  constitute  an  excellent  crop  rotation, 
and  this  may  be  lengthened  a  year  to  admit  a  cash  market 
crop. 


Farming  More  Profitable  Than  Ever 

Viewed  as  a  financial  proposition,  farming  is  more  at- 
tractive today  than  ever  before.  All  staples  are  selling 
at  figures  which  give  liberal  profits.  While  the  farmer 
is  not  being  overpaid,  compared  to  business  people  gen- 
erally, he  is  in  a  position  to  make  money  faster  than  it 
has  heretofore  been  made  in  agriculture.  He  is  inde- 
pendent and  secure. 

A  well  located  farm  of  ioo  acres  ought  to  show  a  net 
profit  of  $2,000  a  year.  It  will  do  this  if  operated  with 
fair  business  sagacity.  It  can  be  made  to  do  more  in  the 
hands  of  a  person  who  is  able  to  apply  scientific  knowl- 
edge together  with  good  business  methods. 

A  person  starting  with  sufficient  capital  and  going 
in  for  fruit,  flowers,  fine  poultry  and  some  of  the  other 
fancy  lines  will  clean  up  $2,000  or  more  on  a  tract  of 
twenty  to  forty  acres.  This  is  being  done  in  a  few  cases, 
and  market  demands  are  such  that  it  can  be  accomplished 
by  thousands  of  others. 

Location  may  not  determine  the  success  of  a  farmer, 
but  it  has  much  to  do  with  the  kind  of  produce  which  is 
raised.  Near  a  large  city  it  is  profitable  to  give  special 
attention  to  dairy  and  poultry  products,  fruit,  vegetables 
and  flowers.  In  cases  of  less  favorable  location,  when 
shipping  is  more  difficult,  live  stock,  grain,  potatoes, 
onions  and  hay  are  the  best  staples  to  cultivate. 

It  is  the  general  belief  that  farmers  should  diversify 
their  crops,  so  that  a  failure  of  one  crop  or  low  prices  for 
that  crop  would  leave  him  other  products  to  fall  back  on. 
There  are  other  reasons.  There  is  no  single  crop  that 
keeps  farm  labor  busy  all  of  the  time,  but  by  a  proper  com- 

20 


FARMING  MORE  PROFITABLE  THAN  EVER       21 

bination  of  crops,  employment  of  labor  can  be  extended 
virtually  throughout  the  year. 

A  dairy  helps  to  balance  up  the  labor  of  a  farm.  The 
milk  herd  requires  attention  morning  and  night  through 
the  summer,  say  an  hour  and  a  half  each  time,  and  the 
middle  of  the  day  is  spent  in  cultivating  fodder  crops. 
In  winter  the  work  of  feeding  and  cleaning  takes  more 
time  than  in  summer,  but  there  are  still  several  hours  to 
be  devoted  to  the  care  of  poultry,  the  marketing  of 
produce  and  other  incidental  labor.  Hogs  and  poultry  go 
nicely  with  the  dairy,  not  only  to  distribute  the  labor,  but 
for  the  profitable  use  of  skimmed  milk  or  other  surplus. 

This  diversity  works  well  in  many  other  ways.  It  is  an 
advantage  to  raise  early  potatoes,  and  after  this  crop  has 
been  taken  off,  onions,  cabbage,  beets,  corn,  millet,  cow- 
peas  or  soy  beans  can  be  grown  on  the  same  land.  There 
is  a  cash  demand  for  all  such  staples  which  improves  with 
the  growth  of  cities.  The  market  improvement  is  due  to 
the  steady  development  of  a  non-producing  population. 

A  few  years  ago  garden  truck  was  so  cheap  that  farm- 
ers could  not  afford  to  give  their  time  to  it.  Today  a 
fine  income  is  assured  the  person  who  has  five  or  ten 
acres  devoted  to  such  common  products  as  cabbage, 
onions,  beans,  lettuce  and  celery.  No  crops  are  more 
certain  than  these  and  with  a  variety  of  them  the  failure 
of  one  or  two  does  not  ruin  the  tiller  of  the  soil. 

No  crop  is  easier  to  handle  than  strawberries  or  rasp- 
berries, and  there  is  no  investment  for  machinery  or 
power  in  connection  with  their  production,  yet  berries 
pay  hundreds  of  dollars  per  acre,  while  grain  crops 
which  require  expensive  equipments  return  $10  to  $30  an 

acre. 

The  increase  of  transportation  facilities  is  another 
large  factor  in  making  farming  profitable.  The  lack  of 
train  service  in  years  past  was  a  great  handicap  to  farm- 
ers.    This  improvement  not  only  helps  farmers  to  do 


22       FARMING  MORE  PROFITABLE  THAN  EVER 

quick  and  regular  marketing,  but  enables  city  people  to 
live  in  the  country.  It  has  such  an  influence  on  the 
prosperity  and  comforts  of  rural  life  that  land  becomes 
a  most  desirable  investment,  being  certain  to  advance  in 
value. 

If  you  are  starting  a  country  home,  or  planning  to 
do  so,  make  up  your  mind  that  farming  as  an  avocation 
can  be  made  both  pleasant  and  profitable.  Confine  the 
work  to  reasonable  hours  and  have  such  a  variety  of 
products  that  something  will  appeal  to  every  member  of 
the  family. 

This  is  necessary  if  boys  and  girls  are  to  be  held  in  the 
country.  Farming  has  been  plain  drudgery  in  too  many 
cases,  and  ambitious  young  people  have  been  driven  to  the 
cities.  Unmistakable  signs  of  a  change  in  this  tendency 
are  seen.  The  country  eventually  will  be  attractive  both 
as  to  occupation  and  home-making. 

There  has  been  real  progress  in  recent  years  in  agri- 
culture and  the  development  of  a  broader  and  more  hope- 
ful rural  life.  Actual  results  are  being  accomplished 
along  these  progressive  lines.  It  is  apparent  that  the 
financial  side  of  farming  has  reached  a  higher  plane  than 
it  occupied  five  years  ago. 

Questions  of  selling  and  buying  are  receiving  more 
attention  than  ever  before,  and  the  principle  of  co-opera- 
tion is  being  applied  in  these  and  other  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  farmer's  business. 

Telephones  are  breaking  in  upon  the  isolation  and 
monotony  of  rural  life ;  good  roads  can  bring  neighbors 
still  closer  and  the  outside  world  nearer  by  encouraging 
rural  mail  delivery.  With  a  care  for  beauty  in  home 
surroundings,  even  on  the  prairie  a  vast  change  can  be 
wrought — a  change  that  not  alone  will  increase  the  value 
of  the  farm,  but  with  other  conveniences  will  make  a 
farm  home  ideal. 

Just  at  present  those  living  in  cities,  large  and  small, 


FARMING  MORE  PROFITABLE  THAN  EVER       23 

consider  a  day  or  a  week  in  the  country  a  privilege. 
They  are  looking  for  but  a  glimpse  of  natural  beauty 
that  can  be  part  of  the  farmer's  home  surroundings 
during  the  entire  season. 

At  present  2,000  American  high  schools  are  teaching 
agriculture ;  37,000  students  in  these  schools  are  studying 
this  subject.  There  is  a  great  shortage  of  well-prepared 
high  school  teachers  of  agriculture,  and  such  teachers  re- 
ceive 50  to  100  per  cent  greater  salary  than  do  teachers 
of  other  subjects.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  part  of  the 
studies  carried  on  in  the  agricultural  colleges  today 
could  not  be  given  to  pupils  in  properly  equipped  rural 
schools,  a  greater  portion  of  which  equipment  would  be 
an  experimental  plot. 

We  now  recognize  the  need  not  only  of  knowing  the 
general  laws  of  nature  and  their  application  to  methods 
of  culture  but  that  each  farmer  should  be  able  to 
make  the  application  under  his  peculiar  conditions  of  soil, 
climate,  topography,  market  and  transportation  facilities. 
So  long  as  there  are  unsolved  problems  lying  before  our 
farmers,  which  can  be  solved  only  in  the  light  of  knowl- 
edge which  the  average  farmer  can  not  gain  for  himself, 
then  the  schools  must  help. 

There  is  the  problem  of  distributing  products  once 
grown;  nearness  to  market,  transportation,  character  of 
market,  competition  for  the  market,  function  and  rewards 
of  middlemen,  development  of  agricultural  credit,  busi- 
ness co-operation  among  farmers,  etc.  These  economic 
considerations,  just  because  they  are  vital  to  the  success 
of  agriculture,  are  a  subject  for  thorough  investigation. 

Our  greatest  concern  is  with  the  quality  of  people  de- 
veloped by  the  rural  mode  of  living.  Hence,  the  condi- 
tions of  rural  life — moral,  religious,  recreational — are 
of  significance.  Because  these  things  are  vital  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  nation  they  must  be  studied. 

Next  to  this  is  the  recognized  need  of  stimulating 


24       FARMING  MORE  PROFITABLE  THAN  EVER 

agricultural  production  in  order  to  meet  the  growing  call 
for  supplies  at  home  and  abroad.  The  rapid  growth  in 
American  cities  has  created  a  consumptive  demand  which 
is  increasing  far  more  rapidly  than  the  output  of  the 
farms.  The  effect  of  this  has  been  to  cut  down  our  ex- 
port to  such  an  extent  that  we  have  come  to  depend  on 
the  cotton  crop  and  manufactured  products  to  maintain 
the  nation's  balance  of  trade. 

The  wheat  crop  of  this  country  is  raised  on  50,000,000 
acres  and  averages  13.7  bushels  to  the  acre,  while  sev- 
eral countries  of  Europe,  on  thousand-year-old  farms, 
average  26  bushels.  We  have  as  good,  or  better,  land, 
tools,  brains,  etc.,  but  we  are  not  yet  properly  employing 
any  of  these  factors. 

The  corn  average  is  only  28  bushels  per  acre,  and  yet 
in  some  twelve  experiments  last  summer  a  yield  of  100 
bushels  or  more  was  easily  secured. 

If  the  farms  of  the  corn  belt  were  kept  clean  of  weeds 
there  would  be  a  great  deal  less  trouble  with  insects,  is 
the  opinion  of  Frank  I.  Mann  of  Gilman,  111.  There  are 
a  number  of  times  during  the  year  when  there  are  no 
crops  in  condition  for  the  insects  to  live  on,  and  these 
times  are  tided  over  for  them  by  the  growth  of  weeds 
where  they  do  not  belong.  A  few  of  the  insects,  such  as 
grubs,  root  lice  and  corn  root-worm,  can  be  controlled  by 
a  crop  rotation  which  introduces  a  year  of  clover  or  some 
such  crop  upon  the  roots  of  which  the  insects  cannot 
live.  An  evidence  of  the  possibilities  in  insect  eradica- 
tion is  the  Mann  farm  at  Gilman.  For  a  number  of 
years  the  men  from  the  state  entomological  department 
have  been  examining  the  Mann  fields  every  year  to  see  if 
any  injurious  insects  could  be  found,  and  except  for 
grasshoppers  they  have  found  none.  Mr.  Mann  at- 
tributes this  entirely  to  the  systematic  rotation  of  crops, 
the  keeping  out  of  weeds,  and  the  use  of  strong  seed 
which  produces  plants  with  power  of  pest  resistance. 


Aim  to  Get  Above  the  Average 

The  actual  moneymaking  on  a  farm  comes  when  we  are 
above  the  average  in  quality  and  production.  Those  who 
stand  on  the  common  level  will  get  a  living,  but  not  much 
more.  Farming  needs  individuality  of  character  and  pur- 
pose just  as  running  a  store  or  a  factory  does. 

If  the  usual  profit  in  a  flock  of  hens  is  $i  each,  above 
the  cost  of  food,  the  aim  should  be  to  increase  egg  pro- 
duction and  the  sale  of  broilers  or  other  kinds  of  fancy 
poultry  so  that  there  will  be  a  profit  of  $2  for  each  hen 
kept.  This  is  to  be  accomplished  by  selecting  pullets  from 
the  best  laying  mothers  and  by  breeding  up  with  full- 
blooded  males. 

If  the  cows  in  a  dairy  herd  are  paying  an  average  of 
$100  a  year,  make  an  effort  to  raise  it  to  $200.  Perhaps 
the  quickest  way  to  gain  this  end  is  by  discarding  all 
animals  that  fail  to  give  five  gallons  of  milk  per  day  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  The  stock  may  be  gradually  im- 
proved by  selection  and  breeding.  It  may  be  possible  also 
to  sell  a  part  of  the  milk  or  cream  to  private  customers 
who  will  pay  double  the  wholesale  rate. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  farmer  should  replace  all  of 
his  grade  cows  with  high-priced,  pure-bred  Holsteins, 
Jerseys,  Guernseys  or  Ayrshires.  However,  for  success- 
ful and  profitable  dairying  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
he  realize  the  remarkable  difference  in  productive  capacity 
of  the  individual  cows  in  the  same  herd,  though  these 
cows  are  cared  for  by  the  same  man  and  are  consuming 
practically  the  same  amount  of  feed. 

Recently  a  herd  of  hogs  from  the  northwest  was  sold 

25 


26  AIM  TO  GET  ABOVE  THE  AVERAGE 

in  one  of  the  central  markets  for  $8.50  per  100  pounds.  A 
herd  of  similar  size  from  a  so-called  corn  belt  state  sold 
in  the  same  market  on  the  same  day  for  $7.95.  The 
northwestern  hogs  were  fed  a  variety  of  food,  including 
barley,  a  liberal  amount  of  alfalfa,  a  little  ground  wheat, 
some  corn  and  some  sugar  beet  sirup.  The  other  herd  of 
hogs  was  fattened  almost  exclusively  on  corn. 

Not  only  did  the  northwestern  hogs  bring  a  higher 
price  per  100  pounds,  but  they  put  on  flesh  more  rapidly 
and  economically  than  the  others  and  were  in  every  way 
more  satisfactory.  With  the  present  knowledge  of  alfalfa 
growing  no  farmer,  even  in  the  strictly  corn  states,  can 
find  a  reasonable  excuse  for  not  having  some  of  this  to 
feed  his  hogs. 

Hogs  need  to  run  at  large  in  a  field  where  there  is  for- 
age. This  may  be  clover,  alfalfa,  rape  or  artichokes. 
In  this  way  they  attain  growth  and  put  on  flesh  better 
than  they  will  if  penned  up.  If  they  can  have  whey  or 
skimmed  milk  once  a  day  this  will  assist  the  economical 
production  of  meat.  The  aim  must  be  to  bring  the  hog 
up  to  200  or  300  pounds  at  such  a  moderate  cost  that 
there  will  be  a  liberal  profit  when  it  is  marketed. 

With  an  abundance  of  hay  and  corn  there  ought  to  be 
good  profit  in  fattening  beef  animals,  few  or  many,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  farm.  It  would  appear  that  with 
the  judicious  selection  of  feeders,  with  the  careful  han- 
dling of  the  animals  while  in  the  feed  lot  and  with  an 
even  break  on  other  conditions,  cattle  feeding  ought  to 
be  fairly  profitable. 

Farmers  have  come  to  realize  the  value  of  maintain- 
ing soil  fertility  and  are  using  manure  as  liberally  as 
possible.  Land,  to  be  made  a  source  of  continuous  profit, 
must  be  kept  fertile.  The  proper  rotation  of  crops,  com- 
bined with  the  raising  of  live  stock,  will  contribute  largely 
in  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility. 

A  few  wise  farmers  in  the  Chicago  district  receive 


AIM  TO  GET  ABOVE  THE  AVERAGE  27 

$2.50  to  $5  a  bushel  for  all  the  corn  they  raise.  They 
understand  the  selling  end  of  farming  as  well  as  the  pro- 
ducing end.    One  is  about  as  important  as  the  other. 

These  farmers  buy  60-cent  corn  for  feeding.  They  can 
not  afford  to  use  their  own  product  for  this  purpose.  Be- 
ing careful,  systematic  men  they  raise  corn  of  a  high 
type,  uniform  and  prolific,  and  they  are  becoming  wealthy 
by  this  kind  of  brain  work.  There  is  a  lesson  for  all 
farmers  here. 

Raise  a  first-class  article,  whether  grain,  vegetables, 
chickens  or  pigs,  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  find- 
ing people  who  want  your  product  if  you  will  but  let  them 
know  what  you  have  and  what  you  sell  it  for. 

I  have  often  seen  men  going  from  store  to  store  with 
a  tin  bucket  and  an  old  rag  sticking  out  under  the  cover 
asking  the  merchants  if  they  wanted  butter,  and  at  every 
place  they  would  be  told  that  it  was  not  wanted,  when 
in  fact  those  very  merchants  were  getting  print  butter 
all  the  way  from  Wisconsin  or  Iowa.  They  knew  the 
character  of  the  butter  in  the  tin  buckets  and  did  not 
want  that  sort.  As  with  butter,  so  it  is  with  all  products 
of  the  farm.    It  is  quality  ihat  makes  the  article  sell. 

Conditions  are  right  for  money-making  by  the  agri- 
cultural class.  It  simply  remains  for  the  farmers  them- 
selves to  develop  methods  of  selling  by  which  they  can 
take  advantage  of  the  improved  markets.  The  rapid 
growth  of  cities,  and  the  sharp  demand  for  all  kinds  of 
produce  are  substantial  evidence  of  this  improvement. 

Co-operation  is  the  first  step.  Organization  may  be  ap- 
plied not  only  in  shipping,  but  in  forming  neighborhood 
clubs  among  city  customers  to  whom  regular  quantities 
of  produce  may  be  delivered  at  stated  intervals  at  prices 
which  are  reasonable  and  fair  to  both  sides. 

Abroad  farmers  market  and  dispose  of  their  produce 
profitably  through  agricultural  co-operative  associations. 
They  improve  their  methods,  widen  their  markets  and 


28  AIM  TO  GET  ABOVE  THE  AVERAGE 

reduce  their  transportation  expenses  through  co-opera- 
tion.   "Why  can  not  our  farmers  do  likewise? 

When  a  farmer  is  located  near  a  good  market,  the 
thing  for  him  to  do  is  to  sell  to  private  customers.  As 
his  business  enlarges  he  can  furnish  supplies  to  hotels  and 
restaurants  as  well  as  residences.  He  can  obtain  any 
price  in  reason  so  long  as  his  goods  are  choice. 

When  producers  are  too  far  from  a  good  market  to 
drive  in  frequently  the  proposed  method  of  co-operation  is 
excellent.  A  number  of  them,  working  together,  can 
agree  to  ship  regularly  a  given  quantity  of  produce  to 
city  consumers  and  the  latter  can  best  handle  the  business 
by  means  of  an  organization  of  some  sort. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  waterfowl  are  not  more 
popular  for  the  table  than  they  are,  but  the  chief  reason  is 
that  they  are  so  poorly  fitted  for  the  market.  The  big 
duck  farms  of  the  east  are  the  only  ones  to  give  the 
proper  finishing  of  ducks  for  the  market  the  whole  atten- 
tion it  deserves.  They  have  educated  the  market  to  an 
appreciation  of  good  waterfowl,  and  have  been  rewarded 
in  price  for  the  effort  expended. 

It  pays  well  to  be  able  to  furnish  in  their  season  such 
articles  as  strawberries,  currants,  cucumbers,  cherries, 
apples,  raspberries,  sweet  corn,  cabbage,  honey  and  other 
products  of  the  kind.  These  pay  ten  times  as  much  as  the 
grain  crops.  An  acre  of  cherries  or  apples  will  net  about 
$150  after  paying  for  the  labor  of  picking  and  marketing. 
The  others  are  equally  profitable  or  nearly  so. 

A  farmer  raising  fruit  should  make  contracts  with 
private  customers  or  grocers  as  early  in  the  season  as 
he  can ;  that  is,  as  soon  as  he  can  tell  something  about 
what  the  yield  is  to  be.  He  will  thus  get  better  returns 
than  by  shipping  to  a  large  produce  market.  The  same 
method  is  best  in  marketing  poultry,  eggs  and  vegetables. 


City  Men  Succeed  on  Farms 

In  many  notable  cases  city  men  are  succeeding  as  farm- 
ers. If  they  do  not  know  all  about  raising  grain  and 
handling  livestock,  they  are  able,  as  a  general  rule,  to 
apply  business  methods  to  their  undertakings. 

Successful  farm  management  must  include  a  knowl- 
edge of  buying  and  selling.  In  this  particular  the  city 
man  is  apt  to  be  ahead  of  his  rural  neighbor.  It  is 
essential  to  know  what  consumers  require,  what  the  usual 
retail  prices  are  on  farm  commodities  and  the  facilities 
available  for  transporting  and  selling.  The  man  of  city 
experience  understands  these  things  and  he  goes  in  for  a 
line  of  produce  like  onions,  beans,  potatoes,  ducks, 
chickens  and  carnations  and  asters,  on  which  he  gets  big 
profits. 

It  would  not  be  like  a  city  man  to  raise  wheat  at  75 
cents  a  bushel  and  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre  when  he 
can  get  90  cents  a  bushel  for  onions  and  250  bushels 
to  the  acre.  This  illustrates  the  whole  idea,  and  no  truth 
is  more  striking  than  the  fact  that  city  men  are  needed  in 
agriculture. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  offhand  the  economic  impor- 
tance of  the  much-talked-about  movement  of  families 
from  the  city  to  the  farm.  The  "back  to  the  land" 
exhortation  to  all  intents  and  purposes  is  a  "go  west, 
young  man,"  motto  redressed.  So  far  as  migration  to 
the  farm  interests  men  with  money  and  intelligence,  the 
whole  idea  is  splendid  and  can  only  lead  to  success. 

It  is  not  all  a  matter  of  settlement  or  numerical  in- 
crease on  the  land.  The  country  demands  introduction 
of  new  crops  or  products,  establishment  of  new  enter- 

29 


30  CITY  MEN  SUCCEED  ON  FARMS 

prises  and  bringing  forth  of  conveniences  and  commodi- 
ties which  farming  districts  lack. 

There  is  also  an  opportunity  for  a  man  with  capital  to 
establish  himself  in  a  rural  community  and  supply  farm- 
ers with  live  stock  or  other  equipment  in  cases  where 
they  are  short  of  means.  Money  is  needed  in  making 
the  switch  from  old  methods  to  new.  It  is  also  required 
to  aid  city  residents  in  getting  started  on  the  farm.  In- 
vestments of  this  character  are  safe.  The  returns  enrich 
both  the  man  with  money  and  the  farmer  with  the  stock, 
who  stands  sponsor  for  the  returns.  There  is  enough 
security  in  the  farming  business  to  permit  the  man  with 
money  to  unite  with  the  farmer  for  mutual  advantage. 

There  are  other  common  opportunities,  such  as 
establishment  of  nurseries,  production  of  high-class  seeds 
and  manufacture  of  mill  products.  The  list  is  in  fact 
long  and  the  opportunities  many.  The  successful  oc- 
cupancy of  the  land  is  in  fact  only  the  first  phase  of  a 
greater  movement  which  must  follow. 

The  need  of  the  day  is  for  diversification  in  agricul- 
ture, and  this  is  merely  another  way  of  saying  that  busi- 
ness methods  are  required  on  the  farm.  A  more  scientific 
cultivation  of  the  soil  is  called  for  and  it  is  equally  neces- 
sary for  any  rural  community  to  adapt  its  products  to 
the  market  conditions  surrounding  it.  Advantages  in  selling 
may  be  gained  by  securing  private  customers  and 
handling  all  commodities  in  a  tasty,  businesslike  way. 

There  are  many  difficulties  in  farming,  but  the  advan- 
tages of  an  agricultural  life  must  not  be  overlooked.  In 
the  first  place,  the  farmer,  if  he  is  at  all  successful,  has 
no  fear  of  being  displaced.  He  commands  his  own  time 
and  leads  an  independent  life.  In  the  second  place,  if 
he  is  wise,  he  may  himself  produce  nearly  all  the  food 
necessary  for  his  family. 

It  is  best  to  go  in  for  a  variety  of  products,  but  not  on 
an  extravagant  scale.    A  start  is  easily  made  with  poultry, 


CITY  MEN  SUCCEED  ON  FARMS  31 

vegetables,  flowers,  bees  and  pigs.  For  this  sort  of  farm- 
ing only  a  small  tract  of  land  is  needed,  and  no  large 
outlay  is  required  for  horses,  barns,  machinery  and  tools. 
These  facts  have  to  be  observed  because  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult at  the  present  time  to  break  away  from  city  employ- 
ment and  establish  oneself  on  the  land  than  it  was  a 
generation  ago. 

At  that  time  there  was  plenty  of  land  to  be  home- 
steaded.  Especially  in  the  middle  west,  where  most  of 
this  land  was  available,  the  soil  was  rich  and  its  fertility 
needed  no  attention.  It  did  not  take  long  for  the  beginner 
to  learn  how  to  grow  crops  successfully  on  this  rich 
virgin  soil,  and  the  advance  in  land  values  made  the  en- 
terprise distinctly  profitable. 

When  good  land  was  thus  available  for  the  taking, 
thousands  of  farm  homes  were  successfully  established 
by  men  having  little  previous  knowledge  of  the  business. 
At  present  there  is  practically  no  desirable  land  left  for 
homesteads.  Therefore  it  is  a  good  plan  for  the  city 
man  to  begin  without  investing  heavily  in  buildings, 
machinery  and  power. 

If  he  will  take  a  few  acres  close  to  a  large  town,  or  at 
least  convenient  to  transportation,  he  can  carry  on  truck 
farming  with  small  outlay  beyond  the  first  cost  of  land. 
One  horse  and  a  little  light  machinery  will  suffice  at  the 
start.  Vegetable  raising  requires  patient  labor  for  six 
months  in  the  year  and  yields  a  fine  return  on  time  and 
investment. 

Flower  farming  is  as  simple  as  anything  else  and  may 
be  pursued  with  pleasure  and  profit  the  year  around,  if 
the  farmer  will  put  some  of  the  proceeds  of  his  surplus 
land  into  a  greenhouse  and  steam  heating  plant.  A  half 
acre  in  carnations  or  roses  will  yield  a  regular  monthly 
income  amounting  to  more  than  fifty  acres  of  corn  or 
wheat.     Perhaps,  also,  it  would  supply  an  element  of 


32  CITY  MEN  SUCCEED  ON  FARMS 

refinement  and  beauty  that  would  be  sufficient  to  keep 
the  young  men  and  women  at  home. 

The  time  has  come  in  this  country — and  it  came  long 
ago  in  other  parts  of  the  world — when  a  tract  of  ten 
acres  insures  comfort  and  independence. 

This  is  owing  to  the  large  markets  which  exist  every- 
where and  the  development  of  railroads.  When  the 
country  was  sparsely  settled,  and  everybody  could  own 
land,  it  was  hard  to  dispose  of  produce  for  enough  to  pay 
for  handling  it.  Cash  was  scarce  and  markets  were  in- 
different Today  the  great  cities  all  around  us  are  calling 
for  farm  products  at  prices  which  afford  large  profits. 

Last  season  a  Michigan  man  put  in  four  and  three- 
fourths  acres  to  cabbage.  The  ground  was  plowed  about 
the  middle  of  May  and  with  the  plowing  a  good  coat  of 
manure  was  turned  under.  Then  the  plot  was  topped 
and  dressed  with  muriate  of  potash,  using  about  ioo 
pounds  to  the  acre.  The  seed  was  drilled  in  the  row  and 
the  plants  were  thinned  out  when  large  enough  for  that 

work. 

The  heads  were  cut  the  first  week  in  November  and 
about  the  middle  of  January  ninety-three  tons,  all  from 
this  patch,  were  sold  in  Grand  Rapids.  Twenty-five  tons 
were  sold  at  $23  a  ton  and  the  remaining  sixty-eight 
tons  brought  $25  a  ton.  This  is  a  total  of  $2,275  from 
four  and  three-fourths  acres  of  land — not  all  profit,  of 
course,  but  a  good  per  cent  of  it  is. 

The  owner  had  land  enough  left,  supposing  his  farm  to 
be  ten  acres,  to  maintain  a  herd  of  swine  and  a  flock  of 
poultry. 


Results  Which  May  Be  Attained 

It  ought  to  be  the  aim  of  every  farmer  to  accomplish 
these  definite  results : 

Increase  profits  by  enlarging  production  at  a  fixed  ex- 
pense. 

Diversify  crops  and  all  other  profits  so  as  to  distribute 
labor  evenly  throughout  the  year. 

Secure  a  regular  income  at  all  seasons  by  supplying 
customers  with  poultry  and  dairy  products,  vegetables, 
beef,  pork,  etc. 

Shorten  the  work-day  to  ten  hours,  provide  a  comfort- 
able home,  improve  the  appearance  of  the  premises  and 
try  to  make  life  enjoyable. 

Let  the  young  people  have  a  little  money  from  the  pro- 
duction of  fruit,  flowers,  vegetables  and  experimental 
crops.  Teach  them  to  plan  work  for  themselves  and  to 
love  the  country. 

There  are  farmers  who  have  delightful  homes  and  who 
give  the  young  people  all  reasonable  advantages,  but  they 
are  an  exception  to  the  rule.  Country  life  is  made  dull 
and  distasteful,  as  a  general  proposition,  by  long  hours, 
drudgery  and  a  lack  of  social  interests.  This  explains 
the  large  exodus  of  young  people  to  town,  when  they 
could  be  happier  and  more  prosperous  in  the  country. 

The  American  farmer,  however,  has  not  been  doing 
justice  to  himself.  He  has  stuck  too  closely  to  those 
products  which  pay  the  smallest  profits,  and  he  has  not 
sold  his  goods  to  the  best  advantage.  By  a  lack  of 
diversity  in  production  he  has  continually  borne  a  risk  of 
total  failure. 

The   difference    in   yield   between    the   land   properly 

33 


34  RESULTS  WHICH  MAY  BE  ATTAINED 

farmed  and  the  land  poorly  farmed  is  so  great  that 
scientific  farming  experts  are  now  calling  the  attention 
of  farmers  by  communities  to  the  urgency  of  taking  up 
the  study  of  certain  crops  and  demonstrating  the  great 
loss  that  is  being  sustained  throughout  the  country  in  not 
making  closer  study  in  requirements  of  cultivation  for 
large  grain  yields.  It  is  rotation  and  diversity  that  are 
lacking — the  former  to  keep  up  the  farm  and  the  latter 
to  keep  up  the  profits. 

Every  practical  rotation  must  contain  crops  that  use 
nitrogen  and  crops  that  gather  it.  For  example,  in  the 
common  rotation  of  corn,  wheat  and  clover,  the  first  two 
use  nitrogen  and  the  third  gathers  it.  In  fact,  clover  is 
a  user  and  a  gatherer  of  nitrogen.  Do  not  think  because 
a  legume  adds  nitrogen  to  the  soil  that  it  does  not  use  up 
plant  food ;  in  fact,  leguminous  crops  use  more  potash 
and  phosphorus  than  most  any  of  the  grain  crops.  A 
large  amount  of  nitrogen  is  also  used,  but  it  is  taken  from 
the  air,  and  in  addition  an  extra  amount  is  stored  up  in 
the  soil. 

Now  let  the  farmer  push  this  diversification  far  beyond 
the  corn,  wheat  and  clover  crops.  Cowpeas  and  oats 
sown  together  make  splendid  fodder  and  benefit  the  soil. 
They  can  be  harvested  by  midsummer,  and  a  crop  of  mil- 
let grown  on  the  same  land  by  fall.  Rye  and  clover  sown 
together  in  the  fall  can  be  cut  for  fodder  by  June  I,  and 
potatoes,  corn,  rutabagas,  millet  or  cowpeas  grown  the 
same  season. 

While  farmers  are  making  $20  to  $30  an  acre  on  heavy 
grain  crops,  they  should  not  overlook  such  products  as 
onions,  beans,  potatoes,  sugar  beets  and  fruit,  which  re- 
turn a  profit  of  $100  to  $200  an  acre.  These  are  the 
things  which  bring  the  large  profits  and  place  agriculture 
on  a  business  basis. 

Some  of  the  easiest  money  in  this  country  is  made  by 
watching  cows  and  hogs  grow  up.     The  man  who  has 


RESULTS  WHICH  MAY  BE  ATTAINED  35 

enough  feed  for  200  head  of  cattle  and  pigs  can  make 
big  profits.  This  system  solves  the  labor  question  better 
than  anything  else,  as  it  gives  work  to  hired  help  the  en- 
tire year  and  avoids  rushes  even  in  haying.  Cattle  and 
hogs  belong  in  the  general  scheme  of  diversified  farming 
with  poultry  and  vegetables. 

The  system  on  many  farms  could  be  changed  so  as  to 
raise  more  live  stock  and  give  employment  to  one  or  two 
men  all  the  year  around.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  much 
trouble  in  keeping  men  where  they  are  well  treated,  well 
paid  and  given  steady  employment.  Farmers  have  to 
compete  with  manufacturers,  railroads  and  other  large 
employers  of  labor,  and  they  can  not  expect  to  pick  up 
good  men  at  any  time  of  the  year  they  happen  to  need 
them. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  farming,  which  contem- 
plates a  system  that  is  best  for  the  land,  it  should  be  the 
aim  of  all  farmers  to  so  diversify  and  manage  their 
crops  that  they  can  take  advantage  of  the  keen  market 
demand  which  exists  for  a  variety  of  products  other  than 
grain  and  live  stock. 

There  are  large  profits  in  fruit  and  vegetables,  as  well 
as  in  the  furnishing  of  choice  supplies  of  poultry,  honey, 
butter  and  a  line  of  commodities  which  may  come  under 
the  head  of  fancy  farming.  An  amateur  can  safely  en- 
gage in  the  production  of  various  articles  which  pay  bet- 
ter than  wheat,  corn  or  milk. 

Among  some  of  the  highly  profitable  crops  which  farm- 
ers commonly  neglect  and  which  may  be  grown  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  are  grapes,  raspberries,  strawberries, 
apples,  plums,  cherries,  pears,  tobacco,  onions,  beans,  cab- 
bage, celery  and  a  host  more  which  have  an  attractive  ap- 
pearance to  the  person  who  studies  the  markets.  Alfalfa 
also  sells  readily  at  prices  which  make  it  more  profitable 
than  grain. 

The  large  profits  per  acre  that  can  be  derived  from 


36  RESULTS  WHICH  MAY  BE  ATTAINED 

tobacco  make  the  growing  of  this  crop  a  temptation  to 
farmers.  It  belongs  in  crop  rotation  schemes  and  thus 
becomes  a  factor  in  soil  improvement.  Tobacco  is  suc- 
cessfully grown  all  over  the  south.  It  has  been  crowded 
out  by  grain  farming  and  dairying  in  most  of  the  north- 
ern states.  The  crop  pays  well,  however,  in  New  England 
and  is  exceptionally  fine  there.  It  is  also  profitable  in 
parts  of  Wisconsin,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Iowa, 
although  it  does  not  receive  any  great  amount  of  atten- 
tion in  the  central  west.  Any  farmer  having  clover, 
sugar  beets,  potatoes,  cabbage,  onions  and  the  usual  rota- 
tive crops  ought  to  give  tobacco  a  trial. 

In  February,  1912,  2,500,000  bushels  of  potatoes  came 
here  from  Ireland  and  other  European  countries.  Dur- 
ing the  eight  months  ended  in  February,  breadstuffs  to 
the  value  of  $10,000,000  were  imported  by  us,  against 
$3,000,000  worth  of  similar  commodities  in  1902.  Onions, 
beans  and  fruits  to  the  value  of  millions  of  dollars  are 
brought  in  every  season.  This  proves  that  our  farmers 
have  been  remiss  and  that  their  vocation  will  pay  better 
when  they  fully  supply  their  home  markets  with  commodi- 
ties which  can  be  raised  anywhere  in  this  country. 

In  1870  there  were  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
approximately,  47.36  per  cent  of  the  population;  in  19 10, 
only  32  per  cent.  From  this,  it  is  apparent,  the  farmer 
now  is  producing  to  feed  two  citizens  beside  himself, 
whereas  forty  years  ago  he  labored  to  feed  only  one. 

Any  state  could  add  from  $250,000  to  $1,000,000  to  the 
revenue  of  each  of  its  counties  annually  by  an  average  in- 
crease of  five  bushels  per  acre  in  its  yield  of  corn  and 
wheat.  If  each  acre  of  improved  agricultural  land  in  this 
country  could  be  made  to  yield  only  one  additional  bushel 
of  produce,  12,500  extra  trains  of  fifty  cars  each  would 
be  required  to  move  the  aggregate  increased  yield.  Eighty 
bushels  of  corn  will  make  more  net  profit  in  one  year 
than  a  fifty-bushel  acreage   for   four  years — for   about 


RESULTS  WHICH  MAY  BE  ATTAINED  37 

forty  bushels  yearly  is  required  to  come  out  even  on  high- 
priced  land.  Truths  of  this  sort  are  what  our  farmers 
need  to  grasp,  for  the  ten-year  average  yield  of  wheat 
in  this  country  is  fourteen  bushels  per  acre,  while  Ger- 
many's is  twenty-eight  bushels,  England's  thirty-two 
bushels,  and  Denmark's  more  than  forty  bushels. 

Of  course  farmers  who  wish  to  diversify  and  get  a 
large  percentage  of  retail  prices  must  consider  the  matter 
of  location.  Transportation  facilities  and  the  nearness 
to  large  markets  are  two  of  the  first  questions.  Nature 
does  90  per  cent  of  the  work  in  producing  from  the  soil — 
man  does  all  the  work  in  transporting  that  which  is  pro- 
duced to  the  market  where  it  can  be  turned  quickly  into 
money. 

The  farmers  of  Jefferson  county,  Wisconsin,  realize 
from  their  cows,  in  milk  product,  over  two  million  dol- 
lars annually,  while  from  the  sale  of  cows  and  heifers 
they  receive  about  $700,000.  This  combining  dairying 
with  dairy  stock  breeding  and  raising,  makes  of  the 
farmer  a  much  better  equipped  man  all  around,  while  it 
enhances  his  profits.  Most  of  the  milk  is  handled  in 
creameries,  and  the  skimmed-milk  product,  with  the 
abundant  corn  crops,  and  alfalfa  and  clover,  enables  the 
farmer  to  turn  a  fine  pork  crop  every  year. 

This  all-around  dairy  farming  pays  well,  when  intelli- 
gently managed,  with  the  added  advantage  that  the 
farmer  is  more  his  own  master,  and  his  calling  educates 
him  more  broadly  and  more  completely. 

Dairy  farmers  must  become  better  stock  raisers  than 
they  have  been,  whether  they  operate  east  or  west,  if  they 
want  larger  profits  and  a  larger  share  in  what  they  earn. 
A  few  men  can  not  control  the  butter  market,  or  pork 
market,  and  the  market  for  cows  and  heifers,  as  they  do 
the  milk  market  in  large  cities. 


Succession  Crops  Feasible 

A  branch  of  farming  that  affords  more  than  ordinary 
pleasure  and  profit  is  that  of  studying  out  schemes  for 
succession  crops.  It  is  quite  feasible  to  raise  two  or 
more  crops  in  one  season  on  ordinary  soil.  It  will  be 
found  that  this  kind  of  intensive  farming  is  good  for  the 
soil.  There  has  to  be  free  use  of  barnyard  fertilizer, 
and  the  plowing,  disking,  harrowing,  rolling,  and  per- 
haps hoeing,  must  be  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  pro- 
duction required  of  the  land.  Such  treatment  will  build 
up  instead  of  wearing  out  a  plot  of  ground.  These  ex- 
amples may  be  varied  as  circumstances  suggest. 

Lettuce,  radishes,  onions,  peas,  carrots  and  string  beans 
may  be  grown  and  supplied  to  customers  between  the 
ist  of  May  and  the  middle  of  June.  The  ground  can 
then  be  prepared  in  a  few  days  for  the  succeeding  crops, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  between  the  ist  of  July  and 
the  ist  of  October  a  full  crop  of  these  products  can  be 
grown:  Celery,  sweet  corn,  late  potatoes,  beets,  cucum- 
bers, cabbage,  lettuce,  spinach,  onions  and  turnips. 

At  first  glance  it  would  seem  that  there  are  not  many 
vegetables  on  the  list  that  could  be  sown  successfully  as 
late  as  midsummer,  but  those  tested  form  quite  an  array. 
Bush  beans,  carrots,  lettuce,  beets,  corn,  parsley,  peas, 
radishes,  spinach  and  turnips  all  give  satisfactory  results 
when  sown  as  late  as  August.  They  should  be  put  in  as 
near  the  ist  of  July  as  possible  to  make  all  growth  possi- 
ble before  frost.  The  hardy  ones  cause  no  anxiety,  as 
they  endure  light  frosts.    The  tender  sort,  such  as  beans, 

38 


SUCCESSION  CROPS  FEASIBLE  39 

cucumbers  and  spinach,  may  be  saved  from  the  cold  by  a 
covering  of  old  rugs  and  similar  material. 

As  the  gardener  can  not  duplicate  the  cool,  moist  con- 
ditions of  spring  for  the  germination  of  August  seeds, 
he  must  do  the  next  best  thing  and  firm  the  soil  well 
after  sowing.  This  helps  to  draw  the  moisture  in  the 
soil  where  the  seedlings  can  use  it.  When  they  have  made 
a  start  the  surface  is  to  be  stirred  to  form  a  mulch. 

Bush  beans  sown  as  late  as  August  10  have  been  suc- 
cessfully harvested  by  October  15.  In  another  case  an 
August  1  sowing  of  peas  yielded  full-sized  pods  in  less 
than  seven  weeks.  These  were  an  extra  early  sort.  The 
crop,  however,  was  not  so  heavy  as  from  spring-sown 
seed. 

Lettuce  planted  in  early  August  bore  leaves  large 
enough  to  use  before  the  middle  of  September  and  well 
formed  heads  from  the  first  week  in  October  until  the 
ground  was  cleared. 

This  is  only  a  suggestive  outline  of  the  scheme  of  grow- 
ing succession  crops.  There  are  wide  possibilities  along 
that  line,  and  it  is  feasible  to  go  still  further  and  sow 
rape  as  soon  as  the  vegetables  are  off  in  September  and 
October.  By  November  1  this  will  be  in  condition  for 
forage.  Hogs  and  sheep  can  feed  from  this  field  of  rape 
for  several  weeks  before  winter  sets  in,  and  it  is  again 
ready  for  them  in  the  spring. 

So  far  as  the  effect  on  the  soil  is  concerned,  it  is  possi- 
ble to  continue  the  double  cropping  of  vegetables  indefi- 
nitely. The  land  will  most  likely  show  improvement 
under  such  methods  of  cultivation,  but  a  rotative  scheme 
is  advisable  on  small  tracts  as  well  as  large  ones. 


Earning   Capacity   of  Land   Requires   Study 

Farmers,  as  well  as  their  financial  friends  in  town,  are 
vitally  interested  in  the  earning  capacity  of  land.  There 
is  more  money  to  be  made  in  farming  today  than  there 
has  been  in  the  past  because  of  the  permanent  high 
prices  for  produce  and  an  improvement  in  transportation 
facilities.  Live  stock  and  field  products  bring  nearly 
twice  as  much  now  as  they  did  ten  years  ago. 

But  what  is  the  earning  capacity  of  land?  A  farm  of 
ioo  acres  can  be  managed  so  as  to  maintain  ioo  hogs,  a 
dairy  of  20  cows,  half  a  dozen  brood  mares,  a  large 
poultry  plant,  a  garden,  an  orchard,  and  an  apiary.  An 
income  of  $5,000  on  a  total  expense  for  wages  and  family 
maintenance  of  $1,500  would  be  a  fair  estimate.  Out  of 
the  $1,500  expense  fund  the  farmer  who  is  operating  on 
business  principles  will  allow  himself  and  family  $500  as 
wages.  He  must  consider  that  he  owes  himself  as  much 
as  he  would  any  other  man  for  a  like  amount  of  work, 
and  his  wife  is  entitled  to  her  share  in  cash. 

This  would  mean  intensive,  systematic,  businesslike 
farming,  but  the  figures  are  conservative,  and  any  intel- 
ligent person  can  obtain  these  results  if  such  a  plan  is 
adopted.  By  doing  more  with  hogs  and  poultry,  the  net 
earnings  might  be  increased  considerably.  It  would  pay 
to  still  further  diversify  by  the  production  of  beans, 
onions,  and  like  crops,  for  which  there  is  always  a  good 
cash  market. 

To  gain  from  fifty  acres  an  income  equal  to  the 
figures  given  above  one  would  have  to  drop  the  dairy  and 
go  in  mainly  for  hogs,  poultry,  onions,  potatoes,  strawber- 

40 


EARNING  CAPACITY  REQUIRES  STUDY  41 

ries,  cabbage,  beans,  and  perhaps  cucumbers  and  sweet 
corn.  Four  brood  mares  could  be  kept  on  a  fifty-acre 
place  to  do  the  work  and  raise  horses  for  market.  After 
two  seasons  there  would  be  three  or  four  horses  to  sell 
every  year. 

It  is  reasonably  certain  that  any  business  man  who 
runs  a  diversified  farm  as  carefully  as  he  conducts  a  store 
can  clean  up  a  satisfactory  income  from  year  to  year, 
keep  up  his  place  in  proper  order,  and  have  a  delightful 
country  home.  He  also  will  gain  considerably  in  the 
appreciation  of  land,  and  he  has  always  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  his  investment  is  perfectly  safe. 

Let  us  consider  what  .two  farmers  in  Illinois  are 
doing  to  show  the  earning  capacity  of  land.  One  of 
these  farmers  has  32  acres  at  Wayne,  DuPage  County, 
and  operates  a  dairy  of  30  cows,  besides  carrying  a  fair 
variety  of  poultry,  hogs,  etc.  He  also  maintains  a  team 
of  brood  mares  on  the  place  to  do  the  work. 

This  man  has  observed  that  cows  waste  a  great  deal  of 
land.  In  a  drought  they  scarcely  get  a  living  from  the 
grass  no  matter  how  much  of  a  range  they  may  have,  so 
he  gives  them  a  small  field  to  run  in,  and  feeds  them  the 
year  around.  He  puts  most  of  the  place  into  corn  and 
fills  a  silo  especially  for  summer  feeding.  He  buys 
never  to  exceed  $200  worth  of  mill  stuff  per  year,  and 
pays  about  $300  for  wages.  His  income  for  milk,  pork 
and  poultry  is  not  less  than  $3,000.  Under  his  system 
he  cleans  up  $2,000  a  year  above  living  and  operating 
expenses. 

In  the  other  case  referred  to,  the  farmer  started  in  an 
experimental  way  on  40  acres.  He  found  that  ten  good 
cows  would  give  an  income  of  $100  per  month,  but  that 
he  had  to  feed  them  in  the  midsummer  about  the  same 
as  in  the  winter.  He  carried  this  number  for  two  sea- 
sons, with  one  hired  man.  He  began  with  equal  caution 
with  hogs,  raising  from  30  to  60  each  season.    Then  he 


42  EARNING  CAPACITY  REQUIRES  STUDY 

increased  the  dairy  to  20  head,  and  at  this  time  is  operat- 
ing one  of  the  most  diversified  little  farms  that  anyone 
could  plan.  Two  hired  hands  are  employed  the  year 
around.  The  40-acre  farm  now  has  20  cows,  50  hogs, 
400  chickens,  16  hives  of  bees,  4  horses  and  a  sufficient 
variety  of  young  stock  to  keep  the  place  up  to  the  present 
basis.  An  acre  of  land  is  devoted  to  strawberries  every 
summer  and  another  to  cucumbers.  There  also  have 
been  some  interesting  experiments  with  alfalfa,  alsike 
and  such  forage  crops  as  rape  and  artichokes.  This  little 
farm  returns  a  gross  income  of  nearly  $5,000  a  year,  less 
than  $2,000  of  which  is  expense. 

In  running  a  dairy  of  say  30  cows,  two  men  are  needed, 
but  this  is  a  sufficient  force  for  much  other  work  along 
the  line  of  fancy  or  intensive  farming.  I  have  seen  it 
demonstrated  over  and  over  that  an  acre  of  strawberries 
will  pay  the  yearly  wages  of  a  hired  man,  and  the  picking- 
is  done  at  a  time  when  there  is  no  pressure  of  other  work. 
Cucumbers  are  a  still  surer  crop  and  pay  enormously. 
They  are  harvested  after  corn  planting,  and  do  not  inter- 
fere with  the  regular  work  of  the  farm.  It  is  important 
to  have  the  work  so  distributed  that  the  men  who  must 
be  kept  for  the  dairy  shall  have  profitable  employment  for 
the  entire  day.    This  is  gained  by  having  a  diversity* 

The  method  of  management  on  a  15-acre  farm  that 
raises  all  the  roughage  for  30  head  of  stock,  17  of  which 
are  cows  in  milk,  can  not  fail  to  be  of  interest  to  farmers 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  farm  in  question  is  situ- 
ated in  southeastern  Pennsylvania,  near  a  city.  About 
13  acres  are  in  cultivation,  the  remaining  2  acres  being 
occupied  by  buildings,  yard,  etc.  This  farm  came  into 
the  possession  of  a  new  owner  in  1881  with  a  mortgage 
of  $7,200  upon  it.  For  the  first  year  the  farm  lacked 
$46  of  paying  expenses.  During  the  next  six  years  the 
mortgage  was  paid. 

Upon  assuming  management  of  the  farm  the  owner, 


EARNING  CAPACITY  REQUIRES  STUDY  43 

a  minister  with  no  previous  experience  in  farming,  began 
to  read  what  agricultural  literature  was  available.  One 
of  the  first  books  secured  was  Quincy's  little  book  on 
the  soiling  of  cattle.  As  in  many  parts  of  this  country 
the  practice  of  "soiling"  is  not  common,  it  is  permissible 
to  state  that  it  consists  in  cutting  and  feeding  green  feed 
in  summer  instead  of  allowing  the  animals  to  run  on  a 
pasture. 

The  system  of  handling  manure  is  such  that  none  is 
lost,  either  liquid  or  solid.  No  commercial  fertilizers 
have  ever  been  used,  and  no  manure  has  been  hauled  from 
the  city.  The  crops  are  all  fed,  and  are  thus  largely  re- 
turned to  the  land  in  the  manure.  Of  course  much  valu- 
able fertilizer  is  added  to  the  farm  annually  from  the 
rich  mill  products  fed  the  cows.  The  roughage  is  all 
raised  on  the  farm,  but  all  the  grain  is  bought. 

The  cows  are  fed  balanced  rations  every  day  in  the 
year.  Every  feed  consists  of  three  parts.  A  portion  of  it 
is  some  succulent  material — silage  in  winter;  and  rye, 
timothy  and  clover,  corn,  peas  and  oats,  or  some  other 
green  crop  in  summer.  A  second  portion  consists  of  dry 
hay  or  fodder.  This  is  used  to  give  the  manure  proper 
consistency  and  adds  much  to  the  convenience  of  caring 
for  the  cows.  A  third  portion  consists  of  mill  products, 
of  which  three  kinds  are  used — bran,  oil  meal,  and  gluten. 

The  soiling  crops  used  are  as  follows :  Green  rye, 
beginning  about  May  i,  and  continuing  about  four  weeks, 
or  until  the  rye  is  ready  to  cut  for  hay.  Then  timothy 
and  clover  are  fed  till  peas  and  oats  are  ready.  When 
the  latter  is  cut  for  hay,  the  silo  is  opened  (about  July 
4),  and  silage  is  fed  till  early  corn  is  ready.  Enough 
early  corn  is  planted  to  last  till  late  corn  (planted  about 
June  22)  is  ready.  Late  corn  is  then  fed  till  it  is  time  to 
put  it  in  the  silo.  From  this  time  forward  silage  is  fed 
daily  till  green  rye  is  available  in  the  spring.    No  abrupt 


44  EARNING  CAPACITY  REQUIRES  STUDY 

change  is  ever  made  in  the  system  of  feeding.  Even  the 
change  from  green  corn  to  silage  is  made  gradually. 

Every  particle  of  roughage  fed  on  this  farm,  including 
hay  and  all  soiling  crops,  is  cut  in  quarter-inch  lengths. 
Even  the  bedding  is  cut  in  this  manner.  There  are  two 
round  silos  on  the  farm,  each  10  feet  in  diameter  and 
34  feet  high.  These  together  hold  about  ioo  tons  of 
silage,  and  this  quantity  of  corn  silage  is  produced  on  4 
acres. 

We  have  given  the  account  of  a  pioneer  farmer,  start- 
ing in  with  no  experience,  but  going  to  work  in  a  method- 
ical manner  to  learn  what  he  could  from  the  experience  of 
others,  making  a  careful  study  of  surrounding  conditions, 
and  adjusting  himself  to  those  conditions.  This  farmer, 
by  applying  scientific  principles  and  business  methods,  has 
blazed  a  path  into  a  region  of  great  possibilities.  The 
most  important  lesson  to  be  learned  from  his  achieve- 
ments is  that  it  is  possible  to  cause  land  to  yield  twice  or 
three  times  as  much  as  the  present  average  from  what  are 
considered  good  methods.  The  place  has  returned  a 
gross  income  of  upward  of  $2,500  a  year,  with  a  total 
expense  of  about  $1,000.  It  would  be  feasible  to  raise 
poultry  also  on  this  place. 

Many  a  farmer  fails  to  get  adequate  returns  from  his 
farm  because  he  stays  at  home  too  closely,  puts  in  too 
many  hours  a  day  following  the  plow,  and  does  not  often 
enough  visit  good  farmers  in  his  neighborhood  or  other 
sections  of  the  country  where  good  farming  is  done. 
Furthermore,  a  man  physically  exhausted  from  a  long, 
hard  day's  work  is  in  no  condition  to  follow  and  get 
much  out  of  the  literature  of  his  business  as  reported 
in  farm  papers,  agricultural  bulletins,  reports,  and  books, 
and  without  the  advantage  of  all  the  information  available 
from  every  possible  source  he  will  find  awkward  situations 
when  he  comes  to  replan  his  farm  for  profit. 

Success  in  farming  calls  for  the  very  best  effort  in  a 


EARNING  CAPACITY  REQUIRES  STUDY  45 

man  along  all  lines.  That  best  effort  is  called  for  in 
replanning  a  farm  for  profit.  The  farmer  who  is  dis- 
satisfied with  his  income  from  the  farm  needs  to  think 
seriously  as  to  whether  or  not  his  farm  is  planned  right 
for  the  largest  returns,  remembering  that  good  farming 
calls  for  keeping  up  the  productiveness  of  the  farm  while 
getting  maximum  crops  economically  from  the  soil. 

There  should  be  a  cement  cistern  in  connection  with 
every  dairy  barn,  for  holding  the  liquid  manure.  The 
gutters  and  yard  should  drain  into  the  cistern.  An  ordi- 
nary pump  will  do  for  raising  the  liquid  to  a  wagon  tank, 
made  like  an  ordinary  water  sprinkler.  It  is  easy  to  give 
the  land  valuable  fertilization  by  this  inexpensive  outfit. 
This  liquid  may  be  put  on  the  bare  land  or  on  growing 
crops.  It  may  be  hauled  to  the  fields  early  in  the  season, 
or  even  in  the  winter.  For  garden  plants,  also,  it  has 
great  value  after  they  have  begun  to  grow,  as  well  as  in 
the  preparation  of  the  soil.  Few  farmers  in  Europe  allow 
liquid  manure  to  go  to  waste. 

Beef  farming  is  attractive,  both  from  the  standpoint 
of  net  returns  and  because  it  favors  permanent  agri- 
culture. The  practical  feeder  home-grows  most  of  the 
roughage  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  grain  that  he 
feeds,  purchasing  such  concentrates  as  cottonseed  meal, 
which  has  a  high  protein  content  and  is  an  efficient  pro- 
ducer of  market  bloom  and  a  fat  carcass.  In  addition 
to  feeding  all  that  the  farm  produces  and  deriving  the 
fertilizing  value  of  the  resultant  manure,  fertility  is  also 
added  to  the  farm  in  the  form  of  the  purchased  feed- 
stuffs. 


Learn  How  to  Go  Back  to  the  Land 

Continued  difficulties  have  caused  an  influx  of  city 
people  to  the  country.  Some  prosper  and  are  happy. 
Others  find  that  the  "turkeys  do  not  grow  on  trees  and 
already  roasted."  Those  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
earning  five  dollars  or  more  a  day  see  the  cash  supply 
come  slowly,  and  become  discouraged.  They  do  not  know 
the  principles  of  farming,  and  many  mistakes  are  made. 

There  are  always  plenty  to  advise  some  great  improve- 
ment which  will  require  a  goodly  outlay  of  labor — these 
same  advisers  ever  standing  ready  to  do  this  work  at  their 
own  price.  The  principle  may  be  correct,  but  the  labor 
bill  is  liable  to  be  excessive. 

No  farmer  would  expect  to  go  to  the  city  and  launch 
into  a  new  business  without  losing  money  at  the  start. 
The  sane  way  is  to  commence  gradually,  study  conditions 
and  methods  thoroughly,  and  then  advance  with  caution. 

Many  a  city  man  has  gone  back  to  the  crowded  life 
discouraged,  just  because  he  did  not  know  how  to  com- 
mence. Had  he  rented  a  small  plot  of  ground  and  spent 
his  spare  moments  in  making  a  garden,  there  would  have 
been  renewed  strength  in  the  exercise,  and  he  would 
have  been  better  prepared  in  a  single  season  to  undertake 
the  larger  proposition. 

His  business  principles  would  enable  him  to  grasp  the 
subject  with  comparative  ease;  but  he  should  no  longer 
follow  the  time-honored  sentiment  that  the  man  who  does 
not  know  how  to  do  anything  else  can  farm. 

Farming  is  now  a  many-sided  proposition.  No  other 
occupation  requires  so  varied  a  knowledge.  No  other 
develops  more  fully  the  best  that  is  in  man. 

46 


LEARN  HOW  TO  GO  BACK  TO  THE  LAND   47 

The  good  and  bad  years  will  average  up  pretty  well, 
after  yielding  returns  more  or  less  remunerative,  as  deter- 
mined by  the  amount  of  knowledge  possessed  by  the 
grower  and  the  degree  of  skill  with  which  this  knowledge 
is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  problems  incident  to  the 
business. 

The  factor  of  market  is  one  that  enters  largely  into  the 
problem  of  securing  adequate  returns  for  our  labors,  and 
with  such  perishable  products  as  small  fruits  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  the  problem  ofttimes  becomes  a  serious 
one. 

The  value  of  a  product  at  any  given  time  is  determined 
by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand.  The  consuming  class 
of  any  prescribed  district  will  use  but  a  certain  quantity 
of  any  product  at  a  value  which  will  allow  the  grower 
exceptional  remuneration.  The  demand  at  such  values 
will  always  be  within  a  prescribed  limit,  as  an  exceptional 
value  causes  any  food  products  to  become  a  luxury. 

To  illustrate :  The  strawberries  on  a  certain  market  are 
selling  freely  at  15  cents  per  box.  There  is  just  about 
an  even  balance  between  supply  and  demand.  We  will 
suppose  that  the  supply  of  such  fruit  on  the  market  be 
increased  50  per  cent.  Will  the  entire  amount  then  sell 
at  15  cents?    Most  assuredly  not! 

Drop  the  price  to  12^  cents,  however,  and  the  increase 
in  consumption  will  provide  a  market  for  the  increased 
supply,  for  those  who  have  been  eating  15-cent  berries 
will  eat  more  freely  of  this  fruit,  and  some  who  cannot 
afford  to  buy  at  the  higher  price  will  begin  to  do  so  at 
the  lower  figure. 

A  still  greater  increase  in  the  quantity  of  such  fruit 
placed  upon  the  market  will  cause  a  still  further  decline 
in  values,  in  order  to  maintain  an  even  balance  between 
supply  and  demand. 

To  be  sure,  when  united  in  an  association,  growers 
may,  through  this  association,  often  maintain  more  equa- 


48        LEARN  HOW  TO  GO  BACK  TO  THE  LAND 

ble  values ;  but  the  sphere  of  such  influence  must  always 
be  within  prescribed  limits. 

The  most  important  factor,  perhaps,  in  demoralizing 
prices  of  products,  such  as  small  fruits,  is  the  farmer 
grower  who  has  but  a  small  area  devoted  to  their  culture, 
and  who  sells  the  surplus  for  what  can  be  most  readily- 
obtained,  by  cutting  prices  to  the  limit. 

If  the  entire  output  of  such  stuff  could  be  handled 
through  an  exchange,  extreme  slumps  in  values,  market 
conditions  extremely  annoying  to  regular  growers,  might, 
at  times,  be  avoided,  for  such  extreme  lowering  of  prices 
is  ofttimes  entirely  unnecessary  to  make  the  demand  keep 
pace  with  supply. 

This  manner  of  disposing  of  or  preventing  such  unde- 
sirable conditions  is,  however,  beset  with  not  a  few  obsta- 
cles. To  insure  the  success  of  such  a  plan  requires 
exceptional  ability  on  the  part  of  the  promoters. 

As  between  the  home  and  distant  market,  the  former  is 
the  safer  proposition.  So  between  the  larger  and  smaller 
centers  of  population,  the  former  usually  affords  the  safer 
market.  In  deciding  upon  a  location,  then,  these  points 
should  be  deeply  considered. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  school  officials  in  the  north- 
west received  his  start  in  life  as  a  result  of  a  venture  in 
fruit  growing.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Michigan  and 
the  conditions  surrounding  his  boyhood  days  were  hard. 
The  father  and  his  two  boys  toiled  early  and  late  on  a 
farm  of  ioo  acres.  They  had  a  poor  bit  of  land,  and  both 
crops  and  prices  were  disappointing.  Debt  hung  over  the 
family  like  a  pall.  They  could  not  sell  their  place  at  any 
reasonable  figure.    One  day  the  father  said : 

"Boys,  we'll  either  lose  everything  we  have,  or  get  out 
of  this  rut.  I  know  of  sixty  acres  that  would  be  just  right 
for  fruit.  We  can  buy  it  on  easy  terms,  and  by  selling 
off  some  of  our  stock  we  can  make  a  fair  payment." 

They  took  the  place  and  set  out  ten  acres  of  fruit  trees 


LEARN  HOW  TO  GO  BACK  TO  THE  LAND        49 

the  first  season.  In  six  years  they  were  out  of  debt  and 
the  boys  were  entering  college.  They  have  risen  to  dis- 
tinction in  professional  life.  The  aged  father  still  owns 
the  two  farms  and  is  in  comfortable  circumstances,  but  he 
has  never  made  any  money  from  grain  raising. 

Had  it  not  been  for  some  special  lines  such  as  fruit  and 
poultry,  which  he  was  driven  to  by  dire  necessity,  he 
would  have  lost  what  he  started  with  and  would  have 
been  forced  to  cast  his  sons  adrift  without  even  a 
common-school  education.  The  sons  are  city  men,  but 
they  own  farms  and  conduct  them  on  diversified  lines. 
They  have  their  land  to  fall  back  on  in  case  of  reverses 
in  their  other  vocations. 

This  story  could  be  duplicated  in  ten  thousand  cases 
where  farmers  failed  abjectly  until  they  began  to  diver- 
sify. The  special  opportunity  just  now  is  for  a  line  of 
produce  which  finds  a  ready  market  in  large  cities.  The 
constant  cash  demand  and  the  good  shipping  facilities 
give  farmers  in  the  older  states  an  advantage  over  those 
who  are  located  farther  from  the  trade  centers. 

A  person  of  limited  means,  who  is  operating  a  small 
tract  near  a  city,  should  aim  to  supply  a  given  number  of 
customers  with  fresh  eggs  every  week  the  year  through. 
If  hens  are  properly  cared  for,  a  flock  of  200  will  yield 
a  revenue  of  $25  per  month  in  eggs  and  $10  in  broilers. 
Add  to  this  $35  an  income  of  $15  from  ducks,  making 
the  poultry  department  earn  a  total  of  $50  per  month. 
Chickens  and  ducks  are  delicacies  when  eight  to  ten  weeks 
old,  and  help  to  distribute  the  profits  over  the  season. 

About  once  a  month,  through  cold  weather,  there  ought 
to  be  dressed  pork  for  private  customers.  Pigs  that 
weigh  150  to  200  pounds  are  desirable  for  this  class  of 
trade,  and  command  good  prices.  They  can  be  disposed 
of  in  sections.  There  is  a  keen  demand  for  country 
sausage,  and  the  small  farmer  should  make  it  now  and 
again  in  winter.    Twenty  pigs  will  net  $300,  or  an  average 


50        LEARN  HOW  TO  GO  BACK  TO  THE  LAND 

of  $25  a  month.  A  farmer,  man  or  woman,  who  uses  a 
little  good  judgment  in  conducting  a  small  tract,  will 
make  five  acres  produce  $600  worth  of  potatoes,  onions, 
beans,  cabbage  and  celery.  These  crops  distribute  the 
summer  work  nicely  and  supply  a  line  of  produce  for 
which  there  is  a  steady  demand. 

The  items  named  furnish  a  living  income  without  half 
testing  the  capacity  of  a  tract  of  twenty  acres.  There 
could  be  as  much  more  from  strawberries,  apples,  cher- 
ries and  honey.  There  is  work  for  a  span  of  horses,  and 
if  a  couple  of  mares  are  kept,  it  is  feasible  to  raise  colts, 
which  is  another  source  of  income.  If  the  place  amounts 
to  as  much  as  forty  acres,  a  dairy  of  ten  or  twelve  cows 
may  be  kept.  This  yields  a  substantial  profit  after  allow- 
ing $400  a  year  for  wages.  By  leaving  out  the  dairy,  an 
ordinary  family  can  do  most  of  the  work  on  a  small  farm. 

I  have  a  yard  of  bees  which  worked  in  a  field  of  buck- 
wheat containing  about  10  acres.  No  other  buckwheat 
was  within  reach  of  them.  They  brought  in  over  $200 
worth  of  buckwheat  honey  from  this  small  field. 
This  is  an  average  of  over  $20  per  acre.  The  flow  of 
basswood  honey,  secured  almost  entirely  from  the  yield 
on  an  adjoining  farm,  netted  several  hundred  dollars. 
These  yields  may  surprise  many,  but  they  are  not  ex- 
cessive. I  have,  during  an  exceptional  year,  secured  a 
yield  treble  the  above  from  buckwheat,  and  have  har- 
vested a  crop  of  $480  worth  of  honey  from  a  basswood 
grove  of  less  than  10  acres.  Honey  represents  one  of  the 
largest  crops,  and  nine-tenths  of  it  is  allowed  to  go  to 
waste.  It  might  be  harvested  at  less  expense  than  any 
other  crop  produced.  The  reason  why  farmers  have  not 
kept  abreast  of  the  times  in  bee  keeping  is  hard  to  find. 


Avoid  the  Single  Farming  Interest 

The  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  dairy  business  shows 
the  folly  of  depending  on  one  commodity  for  success.  If  a 
farmer  will  give  some  of  his  energy  to  raising  pork,  beef, 
mutton,  poultry,  fruit  and  vegetables,  he  can  gradually 
draw  out  of  the  production  of  milk,  and  will  find  his 
profits  steadily  growing. 

It  ought  not  to  be  difficult  for  a  farmer  owning  a  herd 
of  cows  to  push  forward  a  lot  of  hogs,  calves  and  beef 
animals.  He  need  not  give  up  live  stock  raising  because 
one  branch  of  it  is  unprofitable.  A  fair  proportion  of 
horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  is  advisable  in  order  to 
keep  up  soil  fertility.  The  needful  thing  is  to  avoid  any 
single  farming  interest.  Diversity  is  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  will  bring  big  profits  to  the  farmer  who  makes  his 
operations  conform  to  market  requirements. 

As  beef  is  extremely  profitable  just  now,  owing  to  a 
general  scarcity,  this  is  a  safe  line  of  enterprise  for 
farmers,  especially  those  who  have  dairy  herds. 

The  feed  problem  is  less  difficult  in  this  channel  than 
in  dairying,  and  all  farmers  ought  to  aim  to  keep  up  with 
the  times  in  providing  both  early  and  late  fodder  crops 
and  silage. 

Any  who  have  determined  to  turn  from  dairying  to 
beef  production,  wholly  or  in  part,  should  get  a  good 
Hereford  or  Shorthorn  sire  and  develop  stock  suitable 
to  the  new  programme.  These  breeds  will  make  beef 
more  cheaply  than  most  of  the  others.  In  buying  cattle 
to  fatten  for  market,  none  will  pay  better  than  the  breeds 
named. 

There  is  a  great  future  for  the  silo  in  this  country.    By 

51 


52  AVOID  SINGLE  FARMING  INTEREST 

enabling  farmers  to  keep  a  much  larger  number  of  ani- 
mals, there  will  be  no  excuse  for  worn-out  land.  The 
increased  amount  of  manure,  combined  with  careful  rota- 
tion of  crops,  will  result  in  larger  producing  capacity. 

Cattle  are  not  the  only  animals  to  which  silage  can  be 
fed.  I  have  fed  it  to  dairy  cows,  sheep,  hogs,  calves  and 
horses.  It  is  a  great  aid  in  the  production  of  beef  and 
pork  as  well  as  milk. 

Raw  ground  beans  are  valuable  as  a  feed  for  fattening 
cattle,  particularly  if  used  with  corn  or  corn  silage  and 
some  clover  or  alfalfa  hay.  The  analysis  of  field  beans 
shows  23.2  per  cent  protein,  54.9  of  starchy  material,  5.7 
of  ash  and  1.5  of  fat.  Compared  to  cottonseed  meal, 
which  is  so  widely  used  by  feeders,  the  beans  contain 
about  half  as  much  protein  and  one-sixth  as  much  fat. 
Soy  beans  are  a  good  deal  richer  than  field  beans  in  feed 
value,  being  closely  compared  to  cottonseed  meal.  Up  to 
four  or  five  pounds  a  day  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight 
should  be  profitable,  and  would  go  best  with  some  corn. 
About  half  that  amount  of  soy  bean  meal  would  supply 
the  same  amount  of  protein,  but  would  require  more  corn 
to  balance  it  up. 

Men  differ  as  to  the  best  methods  of  feeding  and  best 
feeds  as  much  as  they  differ  on  a  great  many  other  sub- 
jects. The  more  we  raise  on  our  farms  for  feed  for 
steers,  the  better  we  are  off,  and  I  think  that  fact  is  fully 
realized.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  purchase  large  quanti- 
ties of  expensive  feeds,  but  will  the  final  account  justify 
the  act?  We  should  have  a  variety  of  feeds,  and  use 
them  in  a  way  that  will  be  to  the  best  interest  all  around. 


Getting  the  Most  Out  of  an  Acre 

The  most  intensively  cultivated  region  in  Europe  is  that 
part  of  the  province  of  Valencia,  Spain,  which  lies  be- 
tween the  mountains  and  the  Mediterranean.  It  has  a 
rainfall  of  only  about  seventeen  inches  a  year,  but  so 
fertile  is  the  soil  and  so  skilled  are  its  workers  that  it 
produces  crops  worth  an  average  of  $640  an  acre.  There 
are  districts  where  100  acres  support  160  families  and 
where  single  families  live  on  the  product  of  four-tenths  of 
an  acre.  Farms  are  rented  at  about  $30  an  acre,  and  the 
tenant  pays  48  cents  an  hour  for  pumped  water,  which 
flows  in  a  stream  of  200  gallons  a  minute.  Almost  all 
farming  is  done  by  hand,  as  minute  attention  is  given  to 
crops  and  even  to  individual  plants.  The  average  produc- 
tion of  the  principal  crops  is  as  follows,  in  metric  tons  of 
2,204  pounds:  Oranges,  400,000  tons;  olives,  65,000; 
carob  beans,  72,000;  peanuts,  13,500;  melons,  36,000; 
grapes,  87,000;  peppers,  12,000;  tomatoes,  27,000;  wheat, 
62,000;  barley,  18,000;   corn,  38,000;   rice,  200,000. 

Denmark  contains  only  some  15,000  square  miles.  It 
maintains  2,500,000  persons  and  exports  annually  about 
$150,000,000  worth  of  butter,  bacon  and  eggs.  Danish 
butter  invariably  brings  the  highest  price  of  any  offered 
in  the  British  market,  and  the  quantity  of  these  three 
exports  is  maintained  equally  with  its  quality,  summer 
and  winter. 

Dr.  Maurice  Francis  Egan,  our  Minister  to  Denmark, 
says :  "Today  the  Danish  farmer  buys  nothing  individu- 
ally. He  uses  no  seeds  till  they  have  been  tested  by  the 
experts  furnished  by  the  co-operative  society.  He  buys 
his  fertilizers,  soya  beans  from  Manchuria,  cotton  and 

53 


54  GETTING  THE  MOST  OUT  OF  AN  ACRE 

meal  from  the  United  States,  through  the  co-operative 
society.  He  never  kills  his  own  hogs — though  there  are 
500  hogs  to  every  1,000  persons  in  Denmark — but  sends 
them  to  the  co-operative  bacon  factories,  which  were 
founded  some  time  in  the  8o's,  when  Germany  refused 
the  Danish  hog  because  of  an  outbreak  of  swine  fever. 
The  Danes  instantly  founded,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Government,  large  co-operative  bacon  factories.  In  order 
to  make  dairying  possible,  the  Dane  had  to  regenerate  the 
land  exhausted  by  the  lack  of  scientific  treatment. 

"Being  an  educated  man,  he  was  an  open-minded  man, 
and  he  induced  his  Government  to  furnish  scientific 
experts  who  could  finally  answer  any  question  he  might 
ask.  As  an  example,  let  us  take  the  small  farmer,  with 
three  cows,  three  hogs,  four  head  of  cattle,  and  a  horse 
or  two.  He  farms  perhaps  twelve  acres.  Now,  it  is  a 
question  with  him  as  to  the  rotation  of  his  crops;  it  is 
a  question  as  to  the  amount  of  butter  fat  that  each 
cow  should  produce.  He  has,  through  the  co-operative 
society,  the  use  of  a  scientific  expert,  who  visits  his  farm 
every  eighteen  days  and  answers  all  these  questions,  after 
consultation  with  him. 

"Furthermore,  he  keeps  a  duplicate  set  of  books  for  the 
farmer,  so  that  the  farmer  knows  exactly  the  amount  of 
butter  fat  each  cow  yields  every  week,  when  the  cows  are 
expected  to  calve,  the  value  of  the  service  of  every  bull 
in  use,  and  the  exact  position  of  the  farmer,  economically 
and  agriculturally.  For  this  service  the  farmer  pays  the 
expert  30  cents  yearly  per  cow,  the  Government  paying 
the  rest  of  the  expert's  salary,  the  expert  being  attached 
to  the  Royal  Danish  Co-operative  Society." 

These  little  farms  of  ten  or  twelve  acres  in  Denmark 
commonly  return  the  owner  $800  to  $1,200  profit  in  addi- 
tion to  family  expenses  and  all  costs  of  operating.  It  is 
not  unusual  for  tracts  of  vegetables  and  flowers  to  pay 
$300  to  $500  per  acre. 


GETTING  THE  MOST  OUT  OF  AN  ACRE  55 

Joseph  Gould,  an  Illinois  truck  farmer,  has  for  years 
cleared  an  average  of  $150  per  acre  on  his  land,  in  the 
western  part  of  Cook  county.  Mr.  Gould  last  season  had 
a  profit  of  $1,800  from  ten  acres,  and  his  experience 
attracted  general  attention. 

An  acre  of  celery  brought  upward  of  $500,  and  before 
the  celery  plants  were  put  out  the  same  land  produced  a 
nice  crop  of  earlier  vegetables.  The  beets,  carrots  and 
tomatoes  have  been  below  the  average  in  price,  or  his 
income  would  have  been  larger,  for  the  yield  was  heavy. 
Mr.  Gould  has  produced  three  crops  of  radishes  and  let- 
tuce in  a  single  season,  and  his  land  is  kept  in  perfect 
condition.  Nearly  the  entire  tract  raises  two  crops  of 
vegetables  within  five  months. 

No  ground  is  allowed  to  be  idle ;  intensive  cropping  is 
practiced ;  early  vegetables  are  carefully  looked  after,  and 
a  home  market  direct  to  the  consumer  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  products  is  made  by  honest  and  courteous  treatment. 

His  specialties  before  celery  time  are  early  peas,  toma- 
toes, onions,  radishes  and  lettuce,  all  of  which  grow  rap- 
idly enough  so  that  the  land  can  be  used  twice.  Sweet 
corn,  squashes,  cucumbers,  turnips  and  popcorn  are  grown 
every  season,  and  for  two  years  he  has  experimented  with 
peppers.    These  thrive  finely. 

Crop  rotation  is  methodically  followed  by  Mr.  Gould, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  results  noted.  This  is  important  for 
other  reasons.  It  helps  to  destroy  insects  and  fungous 
diseases,  and  provides  fresh  organic  matter  which  decays 
quickly  in  the  soil  and  by  its  stimulating  action  liberates 
from  the  soil  itself  more  plant  food  than  would  otherwise 
be  available.  This  successful  truck  farmer  studies  out  the 
best  methods  of  money-making  and  helps  his  neighbors  to 
place  their  land  on  a  paying  basis. 

Illinois  florists  with  an  investment  of  $10,000  or  less  for 
greenhouses  and  heating  plants  are  able  to  clear  $5,000  to 


56  GETTING  THE  MOST  OUT  OF  AN  ACRE 

$8,000  from  the  production  of  flowers.     They  do  not 
require  more  than  two  or  three  acres  of  land. 

Orcharding  is  an  attractive  proposition.  With  sixty 
trees  to  an  acre,  of  either  apples  or  cherries,  a  nice  income 
is  secured  from  a  small  tract,  with  less  labor  than  is 
required  in  other  lines.  A  return  of  $250  to  $400  per  acre 
may  be  expected.    Other  fruits  do  equally  well  or  better. 

The  following  figures  on  production  of  apples  were 
compiled  by  Mr.  James  O.  Read,  himself  an  expert  horti- 
culturist, while  in  the  capacity  of  president  of  the  State 
Board  of  Horticulture  of  Montana.  While  the  figures 
given  are  based  on  the  productiveness  of  the  Mcintosh 
Red  apple,  which  takes  first  place  in  Mr.  Read's  state, 
they  apply  equally  well  to  the  popular  Jonathan,  which 
still  strongly  rivals  the  Mcintosh  Red  and  other  fine  vari- 
eties. From  his  experience  as  a  fruit  grower,  and  from 
other  growers  in  the  same  district,  Mr.  Read  places  pro- 
duction of  apples  per  tree  at  three-fourths  of  a  box  for 
the  fifth  year,  one  and  one-half  boxes  for  the  sixth  year, 
three  boxes  for  the  seventh  year,  four  boxes  for  the 
eighth  year,  five  boxes  for  the  ninth  year,  and  six  boxes 
for  the  tenth  year.  On  the  foregoing  basis  is  compiled 
the  following  statement  of  annual  net  profits  from  a 
standard  apple  orchard  of  ten  acres,  eighty  trees  to  the 
acre:  Fifth  year,  600  boxes  at  $1.10  net,  $660;  sixth, 
1,200  at  $1.10,  $1,320;  seventh,  2,400  at  $1.10,  $2,640; 
eighth,  3,200  at  $1.10,  $3,520;  ninth,  4,000  at  $1.10, 
$4,400;  tenth,  $4,800  at  $1.10,  $5,280. 


Plans  to  Keep  Young  People  Interested 

One  of  the  problems  that  is  all  the  time  tugging  at  the 
heart  of  the  farmer  of  this  country  is  the  absence  from 
the  farm  of  the  young  man.  There  are  many  neighbor- 
hoods in  which  not  one  in  ten  of  the  male  members  of 
the  community  may  be  truthfully  called  a  young  man.  It 
used  to  be  thought  that  the  time  of  the  young  man 
belonged  to  his  father  till  he  was  "one-and-twenty" ;  but 
the  day  of  his  departure  has  gradually  dropped  until  now 
long  before  he  is  of  age  he  is  away  at  some  other  kind  of 
business.  With  all  the  drift  toward  the  country  that  we 
hear  so  much  about  today,  it  is  a  drift  of  men  quite  well 
along  in  years,  and  not  a  movement  which  takes  the  boys 
and  young  men  back  to  nature.  The  shops,  the  factories, 
the  stores  and  the  offices  are  swallowing  up  sturdy  young 
fellows  everywhere. 

Some  of  the  best  farmers  of  this  country  are  rinding  a 
solution  of  the  young-man  question  in  the  plan  of  settling 
their  sons  early  on  the  farm.  If  these  farmers  are  fortu- 
nate enough  to  be  the  owners  of  large  farms,  the  problem 
is  easier  of  solution ;  for  then  they  may  cut  the  old  home- 
stead up  into  two  or  three  good-sized  farms,  build  houses 
on  these,  and  have  their  children  near  to  them  as  long  as 
they  live. 

This  is  a  happy  method  of  working  out  the  problem. 
As  the  father  and  mother  grow  old,  and  less  able  to  carry 
on  the  farm  work  themselves,  they  may  have  within  easy 
call  their  boys  and  girls.  Where  a  spirit  of  harmony  and 
love  exists  between  the  different  members  of  the  family 
this  state  of  affairs  may  be  said  to  be  almost  ideal. 

57 


58    TO  KEEP  YOUXG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED 

In  case  the  old  farm  cannot  be  thus  parceled  out,  it  is 
nearly  always  possible  to  buy  lands  not  far  away  upon 
which  the  young  people  may  be  located.  The  father  may 
assume  the  responsibility  of  the  purchase  of  these  farms, 
giving  the  children  a  chance  to  pay  for  them  on  easy 
terms,  and  after  a  long  lease  of  time,  if  desired,  or  if  his 
own  financial  condition  will  permit,  he  may  buy  the  lands 
desired,  and  give  the  deed  to  his  children.  This  has  a 
great  point  of  advantage  in  the  fact  that  thus  the  father 
and  mother  may,  to  a  large  extent,  be  the  administrators 
of  their  own  estates.  This  prevents  much  of  the  strife 
that  comes  up  where  the  matter  of  settling  up  the  estate  is 
left  until  after  the  death  of  the  parents. 

The  extension  of  this  plan  of  settling  the  young  people 
on  nearby  farms  would  do  more  than  any  other  one  thing 
to  give  us  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  question:  How 
shall  we  keep  our  young  people  on  the  farm?  Let  the 
children  understand  that  when  they  are  of  legal  age  they 
shall  have  a  place,  either  with  the  parents  on  the  old  farm 
or  on  a  farm  near  the  homestead,  and  the  drift  away  from 
the  country  will  receive  a  decided  check. 

Young  men  who  have  an  ambition  to  conduct  a  farm 
on  progressive  lines  ought  to  have  the  earnest  support  of 
their  parents — not  only  because  modern  methods  pay,  but 
because  they  will  be  likely  to  hold  the  interest  of  a  studi- 
ous and  energetic  boy. 

The  modern  farmer  is  not  simply  a  corn  planter,  a 
wheat  grower,  a  cattle  breeder,  a  sheep  feeder,  or  a  poul- 
try raiser,  but  often  all  of  these  and  more  combined.  His 
farm,  therefore,  must  be  planned  with  reference  to  all  of 
these  operations  and  the  harmonious  dovetailing  together 
of  the  different  parts.  In  planning  his  farm  for  profit, 
the  farmer  must  see  all  the  different  problems  in  a  com- 
prehensive way  at  the  outset,  omit  the  features  that  do 
not  pay,  and  strengthen  those  that  do. 

He  will  soon  perceive  that  his  sons  and  daughters,  if 


TO  KEEP  YOUNG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED  59 

| 
they  are  reading  people,  are  keenly  interested  in  every 
move  that  indicates  progress.  They  will  co-operate  in  all 
betterment  projects  and  will  in  time  come  to  appreciate, 
the  advantages  of  their  country  life  and  vocation.  It  is 
important  for  young  people  to  see  that  they  have  fine 
opportunities  right  at  home. 

The  entertaining  stories  that  are  published  from  day 
to  day  about  persons  who  have  accomplished  astonishing 
things  by  moving  to  some  other  part  of  the  country  do 
not  always  serve  a  good  purpose. 

It  depends  mainly  on  the  man  himself  whether  he  is 
going  to  prosper  anywhere  or  not.  The  many  alluring 
things  which  are  published  to  attract  farmers  are  designed 
first  of  all  to  sell  the  land.  They  are  not  issued  from 
philanthropic  motives,  and  the  individual  will  always  find 
that  success  depends  on  his  own  efforts  and  intelligence, 
no  matter  what  his  environments  may  be. 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  of  old  friends  who  have  "made 
good"  in  a  new  locality,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  think  of  the 
good  times  we  might  have  in  some  other  climate  or  on 
some  other  kind  of  farm ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
lure  of  the  big  farm,  the  fruit  ranch,  the  mild  winters, 
and  other  far-away  things  have  been  fatal  to  scores  where 
they  have  drawn  one  to  affluence. 

When  a  man  is  east,  he  is  apt  to  think  that  the  west 
offers  him  golden  opportunities.  When  he  is  west,  he  sees 
the  advantage  of  the  eastern  markets  and  transportation. 
If  he  has  been  drawn  south,  he  may  discover  that  the 
warm  climate  takes  the  tuck  out  of  him,  while  in  the  far 
north  it  may  turn  out  to  be  too  cold  for  a  comfortable 
living.  The  truth  is  that  all  sections  of  this  republic  are 
good,  and  all  have  special  advantages. 

A  practical  farm  mother  in  Wisconsin  has  solved  a 
problem  which  had  become  the  most  serious  of  her  life. 
Incidentally,  she  may  have  conferred  a  benefit  on  the 
farming  community  generally. 


60  TO  KEEP  YOUNG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED 

Her  growing  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  were 
becoming  tired  of  the  old  home,  and  had  an  ambition  to 
try  city  life.  Having  acquired  a  dislike  for  the  farm, 
they  were  planning  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  do  for 
themselves. 

The  more  animated  these  young  folks  became  over 
their  new  ambition,  the  more  painful  the  subject  became 
to  their  parents.  Mother  love  and  sense  finally  found  a 
way  to  settle  the  question  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  all. 

It  was  proposed  to  try  some  experiments  along  the  line 
of  modern  farming  and  to  give  the  boy  and  girl  an  oppor- 
tunity to  own  something  for  themselves  and  enjoy  the 
profits  resulting  from  their  efforts.  The  mother  offered 
to  furnish  the  capital  necessary  for  raising  squabs  on  a 
large  scale,  with  the  understanding  that  the  son  and 
daughter  would  care  for  the  birds,  and  the  three  share  in 
the  proceeds. 

The  sagacious  proposition  aroused  interest  at  once,  and 
the  project  was  launched.  Every  day  brought  new  and 
interesting  developments,  and,  with  some  modification  of 
the  other  labors  which  had  been  required  of  them,  the  old 
farm  became  an  attractive  place  to  the  young  folks. 

The  squab  industry  has  now  been  growing  on  their 
hands  for  two  years,  and  is  highly  profitable.  The 
resourceful  mother  has  brought  forward  other  ideas  for 
stimulating  the  interest  and  energy  of  her  children,  who 
are  today  happy  in  their  country  life.  All  idea  of  going 
to  live  in  town  has  been  abandoned.  Mother  wit  has 
saved  the  boy  and  the  girl  for  the  farm. 

Either  individual  ownership  or  profit-sharing  is  a  good 
thing  to  institute  among  the  young  people  in  the  country. 
If  the  working  day  can  be  made  shorter  and  the  drudgery 
of  the  farm  lessened,  boys  and  girls  will  not  be  so  eager 
to  go  to  the  city. 

If  the  average  farmer  worked  about  one-half  as  much 
land,  and  diversified  his  efforts  so  as  to  secure  an  income 


TO  KEEP  YOUNG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED    61 

every  month  of  the  year,  he  would  be  better  off  and  his 
family  would  be  happier. 

For  instance,  an  acre  of  ground  under  greenhouses 
devoted  to  flowers  would  yield  better  returns  than  fifty 
acres  of  wheat  or  corn,  besides  affording  a  delightful 
occupation  for  the  family.  An  acre  of  strawberries  will 
ordinarily  return  larger  profits  than  ten  acres  of  grain. 
The  market  for  truck  and  fruit  grows  better  yearly.  The 
little  things  give  variety  and  spice  to  life  on  the  farm — 
and  they  pay  better  from  every  point  of  view. 

Many  boys  and  girls  might  be  saved  from  the  follies 
and  misfortunes  of  city  life  if  their  parents  would  put 
some  thought  into  new  plans  for  arousing  their  interest 
in  home  affairs.  Give  them  plots  of  ground  for  their 
own  use,  and  encourage  them  in  making  experiments  with 
vegetables  and  fruits.  A  delightful  way  is  for  the  young 
folks  to  form  a  partnership  if  they  are  old  enough  to  do 
useful  work  about  the  farm.  The  girls  should  have 
charge  of  poultry  and  flowers,  while  the  boys  manage 
vegetables  and  fruit. 

Young  people  who  live  in  a  city,  and  would  like  to  try 
country  life,  have  an  excellent  opportunity  to  gain  a  valu- 
able experience  and  earn  money  during  vacation  by  tilling 
the  soil.  No  plan  could  be  better  than  this  for  the  many 
who  are  working  their  way  through  school.  The  produc- 
tion of  vegetables  and  flowers  is  immensely  profitable,  as 
there  is  a  constant  cash  demand  in  every  town,  big  and 
little. 

The  pleasure  of  such  an  experiment,  if  rightly  con- 
ducted, would  be  hard  to  exaggerate.  It  is  nearly  always 
possible  to  obtain  a  small  tract  of  land  convenient  to  a  car 
line.  One  point  to  be  considered  is  that  there  is  little  time 
to  waste  in  walking.  The  rent  would  be  $10  to  $20  for 
two  acres. 

Boys  or  girls  who  already  live  on  a  farm,  and  who  have 
an  ambition  to  test  their  ability  in  some  fancy  line  of  pro- 


62    TO  KEEP  YOUNG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED 

duction,  should  get  up  a  profit-sharing  scheme.  Undoubt- 
edly they  would  find  their  parents  as  willing  and  eager  as 
themselves,  not  merely  to  develop  additional  sources  of 
revenue  but  to  stimulate  a  love  for  farming  among  their 
sons  and  daughters. 

For  young  people  who  wish  to  see  what  they  can 
accomplish  with  land,  a  partnership  of  two  is  best.  This 
is  because  there  is  a  great  deal  of  work  in  connection  with 
raising  and  marketing  flowers  and  vegetables,  and  the 
enthusiasm  is  most  likely  to  be  kept  up  when  there  are 
partners  to  share  the  labor  and  planning. 

It  is  best  to  begin  the  enterprise  by  arranging  for  a 
little  help  from  some  one  who  can  furnish  a  team  at  odd 
times.  There  will  be  some  hauling  of  vegetables  all  sum- 
mer, but  perhaps  the  team  would  not  be  required  more 
than  twice  a  week.  It  would  be  quite  feasible  to  rent  a 
horse  and  wagon  for  the  season  or  even  to  buy  them. 

If  such  vegetables  as  lettuce,  radishes,  onions,  beets  and 
carrots  are  planted  during  May,  the  first  crop  can  be 
taken  from  the  ground  in  July,  and  a  second  crop 
put  in.  Celery,  onions,  beets  and  cabbage  work  nicely 
into  this  scheme.  A  good  crop  of  potatoes  ought  to  be 
secured  between  June  I  and  September  15.  The  late 
vegetables  will  require  some  attention  after  school  opens, 
and  a  little  help  may  have  to  be  hired. 

I  would  advise  renting  the  land  for  two  or  three  sea- 
sons, for  a  lot  of  preparatory  work  can  be  done  in 
the  spring,  on  Saturdays  and  at  odd  times,  enabling  the 
young  farmers  to  raise  two  crops.  A  study  in  double 
cropping  is  advisable,  for  it  means  extra  profits.  An 
enterprise  of  this  kind,  properly  conducted,  on  a  couple 
of  acres  will  return  an  income  of  several  hundred  dollars, 
besides  affording  a  vast  amount  of  pleasure  and  valuable 
experience. 

Make  an  effort  to  keep  the  weeds  out  of  the  land  and 
do  not  allow  the  soil  to  become  caked.  After  the  first  lot 


TO  KEEP  YOUNG  PEOPLE  INTERESTED  63 

of  quick-growing  produce  has  been  taken  off,  stir  up  the 
land  with  disk  or  cultivator,  and  replant.  Nearly  all  suc- 
cessful gardeners  make  their  land  produce  two  crops  of 
vegetables  in  a  season.  On  a  tract  of  two  acres,  a  plan 
something  like  the  following  should  be  adopted : 

Plant  one  acre  to  potatoes,  half  an  acre  to  lettuce,  rad- 
ishes, beets  and  carrots,  and  half  an  acre  to  onions.  For 
the  second  part  of  the  season,  put  out  a  quarter  of  an 
acre  of  celery,  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  beets,  an  acre  of 
late  cabbage  and  half  an  acre  of  onions.  If  the  young 
farmers  find  the  season  going  too  fast  for  them,  they 
should  not  attempt  two  crops  that  year,  but  get  ready  to 
follow  the  programme  outlined  for  the  next  summer. 

All  of  the  products  named  return  large  profits.  Cab- 
bage ought  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  $200  an  acre;  celery, 
$400;  onions,  $250;  beets  and  carrots,  $100;  potatoes, 
$150.  There  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  figures  given.  Any 
industrious  youth  can  gain  a  fine  income  in  this  way. 
The  only  capital  required  is  for  seed,  rent  of  land  and 
such  team  work  as  must  be  done.  I  will  say  frankly  that 
there  will  be  mistakes  and  accidents  which  will  upset  some 
of  the  calculations,  but  these  will  be  few  after  the  first 
season.  Hence  I  advise  taking  the  land  for  two  or  more 
years. 

A  farmer  reports  that  in  a  single  season  seventeen  acres 
of  pickles  and  thirty-one  acres  of  onions  and  onion  sets 
cashed  in  far  more  than  the  market  value  of  the  expensive 
land  on  which  they  grew.  Last  year  he  broke  the  record 
with  $4,600  from  ten  acres  of  onions.  For  five  years  he 
has  averaged  $190  an  acre  from  pickles. 


Profit  Sharing  with  Fruit  and  Vegetables 

The  difficulty  of  keeping  young  people  interested  in  farm 
work  and  rural  life  has  made  me  an  advocate  of  profit- 
sharing.  After  taking  part  in  a  number  of  experiments 
along  this  line,  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  the  principle 
is  a  good  one  to  put  in  force.  It  need  not  be  very  exten- 
sive at  first,  but  when  boys  and  girls  are  growing  up  and 
deciding  on  a  vocation,  the  profit-sharing  system  ought 
to  be  adopted,  and  include  the  whole  farm. 

While  the  young  folks  are  putting  in  about  half  their 
time  at  school,  and  rendering  substantial  help  through  the 
summer,  and  perhaps  nights  and  mornings,  they  are  apt 
to  feel  the  drudgery  of  farm  life,  and  begin  making  plans 
to  get  away  as  soon  as  possible. 

This  is  a  critical  period,  and  many  parents  fail  to 
bring  the  minds  of  their  sons  and  daughters  back  to  an 
enjoyment  of  their  farm  home.  It  is  usually  the  long 
hours  of  seemingly  thankless  toil  that  cause  the  boys  and 
girls  to  dislike  agriculture  and  rush  to  the  cities.  I  con- 
tend that  profit-sharing  is  one  of  the  first  steps  necessary 
to  remedy  this  great  difficulty  in  the  country.  It  not  only 
has  the  element  of  fairness  and  justice  in  it  but  it  may 
serve  to  stimulate  interest  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  so 
mold  the  entire  career  of  a  young  man  or  woman. 

I  would  begin  by  allowing  the  boys  and  girls  to  have 
a  share  in  such  things  as  poultry,  bees,  live  stock  and  fruit 
— most  particularly  fruit.  For  one  thing,  this  would 
result  in  the  production  of  more  and  better  fruit  on  the 
average  farm.  Orchards  are  shamefully  neglected  by 
most  people  who  carry  on  general  farming.     The  work 

64 


PROFIT  SHARING  65 

required  to  keep  trees  in  proper  condition  is  of  a  kind 
that  can  be  put  off,  and  in  the  pressure  of  other  things 
during  the  fall  and  spring  rush,  it  usually  is  deferred  until 
the  orchard  is  an  unsightly  waste.  It  is  much  the  same 
with  all  kinds  of  small  fruits.  This,  also,  is  looked  upon 
as  a  side  issue,  and  therefore  neglected. 

Apples,  cherries,  berries  and  various  other  fruits  can 
be  grown  with  profit  in  all  parts  of  this  country,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  two  or  three  of  the  most  northerly 
prairie  states.  Can  any  one  say  that  apples  or  cherries 
pay  less  than  grain,  or  require  more  work? 

The  truth  is,  they  pay  far  better  per  acre  than  any  of 
the  ordinary  farm  crops.  It  is  only  through  neglect  that 
they  fail  to  return  liberal  profits,  and  if  each  farmer 
would  get  up  a  profit-sharing  plan  with  regard  to  his 
fruit,  and  bring  in  the  entire  family,  including  the  hired 
help,  there  would  be  a  lot  of  pleasure  in  the  project,  and  a 
nice  sum  of  money  for  every  individual  concerned. 

In  one  case  that  I  have  in  mind,  an  old  orchard  of  about 
twenty  apple  trees  was  extended  until  it  occupies  four 
acres,  and  there  is  an  additional  acre  of  strawberries  and 
raspberries  near  by.  This  five-acre  fruit  tract  is  a  joint 
family  enterprise.  The  head  of  the  house  gets  his  share 
for  furnishing  the  land  and  the  money  required  to  buy 
the  young  trees.  He  has  been  investing  about  $20  a  year 
in  young  trees,  to  secure  new  varieties  and  increase  the 
acreage.  Last  year  alone  he  received  $300  as  his  share 
of  the  profits  on  five  acres.  Two  sons  and  his  wife  and 
daughter  get  a  like  amount  each,  there  being  a  revenue 
of  $1,500.  It  was  a  favorable  fruit  season,  and  the 
returns  may  be  less  on  an  average.  However,  there  is  an 
abundance  of  pin  money  in  that  family,  and  the  young 
people  are  receiving  some  wholesome  training.  They  are 
learning  to  raise  fruit  in  a  businesslike  way ;  to  care  for 
the  trees;  to  meet  market  needs,  and  to  handle  money 
that  comes  to  them  as  a  result  of  their  skill  and  industry. 


New  Vocation  for  the  City  Family 

The  city  family  taking  a  little  farm  should  be  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  the  novelty  is  pretty  sure  to  wear  off 
and  leave  the  work  irksome  and  in  some  cases  unsatisfac- 
tory. For  this  reason,  every  step  must  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. The  location  is  the  first  thing  to  be  determined. 
If  city  employment  is  to  be  continued,  it  is  imperative  to 
have  the  farm  home  within  an  hour's  run.  Otherwise,  too 
much  time  is  wasted  in  traveling  back  and  forth  and  too 
much  money  spent  for  transportation.    . 

A  farm  located  within  the  range  of  suburban  service 
permits  city  employment,  affords  good  market  facilities, 
insures  school  and  social  advantages,  and  is  quite  sure  to 
advance  in  value,  so  that  the  investment  may  be  profitable 
in  case  circumstances  ever  compel  a  change. 

It  would  be  well  to  do  with  a  very  small  tract — say, 
twenty  acres — for  the  sake  of  the  advantages  enumerated. 
This  land  is  worth,  ordinarily,  $4,000,  and  house,  barn 
and  other  improvements  will  make  the  aggregate  $6,000 
at  the  very  least.  If  there  are  resources  in  the  family,  it 
would  be  wise  to  make  the  investment  about  $7,000,  in 
order  that  the  dwelling  might  be  tasty  and  comfortable. 

The  earning  power  of  such  a  place,  devoted  to  poultry, 
vegetables,  fruit,  etc.,  is  $2,000  a  year  and  upward.  This 
is  a  large  interest  on  the  $7,000  invested.  If  the  average 
salaried  man  can  clear  $2,000  in  addition  to  the  main  part 
of  the  family  living,  he  can  afford  to  give  his  whole 
time  to  the  farm,  even  if  he  has  to  pay  interest  on  the 
investment. 

With  most  people  getting  started  on  a  little  farm,  it  has 

66 


NEW  VOCATION  FOR  CITY  FAMILY  67 

to  be  a  straight  business  proposition.  The  head  of  the 
family  must  count  his  or  her  time  worth  at  least  $1,000 
and  another  $1,000  is  to  be  reckoned  for  investment  and 
improvements,  if  any  progress  is  to  be  made.  Granting 
that  visible  conditions  are  in  line  with  these  suggestions, 
the  owner  need  not  be  afraid  of  a  farm  enterprise.  If 
he  has  a  little  capital,  and  is  known  as  a  man  of  sense  and 
character,  any  banker  will  carry  the  necessary  debt  for 
him,  and  give  him  a  chance  to  work  out  the  problem  to  its 
logical  conclusion.  If  members  of  the  family  have  the 
taste  and  ability  to  handle  poultry,  flowers,  vegetables  and 
fruit,  there  need  be  no  doubt  about  ultimate  success. 

A  line  of  work  must  be  chosen  which  will  appeal  to  the 
young  people.  It  is  a  safe  proposition  that  no  little  farm 
project  will  fail  if  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  family  are 
interested.  If  they  enjoy  their  work  on  the  land,  they  will 
soon  come  to  appreciate  the  possibilities  of  this  location. 
Once  they  see  that  it  can  be  made  to  pay  better  than  the 
ordinary  city  employment,  their  interest  will  be  stimulated 
and  they  will  be  contented  with  country  life. 

The  diversity  of  products  on  a  twenty-acre  tract  can 
be  sufficient  to  give  to  each  member  of  the  family  a 
certain  responsibility  as  well  as  a  share  in  the  profits. 
Such  lines  as  live  stock,  poultry,  gardening  and  floricul- 
ture appeal  strongly  to  young  people,  and,  fortunately, 
there  are  large  profits  in  these  features.  If  bees,  squabs, 
mushrooms  or  other  novelties  that  possess  practical  value 
can  be  added,  so  much  the  better. 

If  it  is  desired  to  have  a  tract  larger  than  twenty  acres, 
the  same  investment,  or  even  a  smaller  one,  will  do  by 
locating  farther  from  the  city.  When  a  place  is  chosen 
several  miles  from  a  station,  a  line  of  products  must  be 
handled  which  will  not  require  quick  marketing.  It  is 
practicable  to  raise  poultry,  hogs,  potatoes  and  fruit  when 
the  location  is  so  far  out  that  not  more  than  one  trip  a 
week  can  be  made. 


68  NEW  VOCATION  FOR  CITY  FAMILY 

Occasionally  city  people  who  have  saved  a  little  money 
consult  me  about  getting  started  on  a  farm.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  have  some  capital,  and  the  more  the  better,  but 
the  situation  is  always  hopeful  for  the  family  that  has 
prudence  and  energy  sufficient  to  accumulate  $1,000. 

To  move  from  the  city  to  the  country,  with  no  capital, 
would  appear  to  be  a  serious  undertaking,  and  the  writer 
would  not  advise  city  people  to  undertake  it.  However, 
if  a  small  capital  has  been  saved  up,  the  move  can  be 

made. 

A  good  method  of  procedure  for  the  man  with  $1,000 
would  be  to  select  ten  acres  close  to  some  suburban 
station  and  within  an  hour's  ride  of  the  city.  The  price 
would  be  $1,500  to  $2,000.  He  could  get  a  banker  with 
whom  he  has  had  business  relations,  or  a  personal  friend, 
to  finance  the  project  to  the  extent  of  $3,000  or  $4,000. 
It  might  be  best  to  retain  city  employment  for  the  first 
year,  while  equipping  the  little  farm  and  getting  things 

started. 

Substantial  progress  can  be  made  in  this  first  year. 
The  family  may  start  a  good  garden,  an  orchard,  a 
flock  of  poultry,  keep  a  few  cows  and  pigs,  and  grow  most 
of  their  own  table  supplies. 

If  the  wife  knows  how  to  prepare  food  and  understands 
how  to  be  frugal,  the  actual  money  expense  for  the  farm 
living  may  be  made  very  small,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
standard  of  living,  from  the  standpoint  of  food,  may  be 
much  higher  than  is  possible  even  with  wealthy  people  in 

the  city. 

At  first  the  principal  aim  should  be  to  produce  truck 
crops  for  home  consumption.  As  experience  is  gained, 
the  industry  may  be  enlarged  and  a  market  established. 
Many  men  have  made  the  transition  in  this  manner; 
others  have  started  with  one  or  two  cows,  and  have  let 
the  business  grow  from  the  profits  obtained  in  it ;  others 


NEW  VOCATION  FOR  CITY  FAMILY  69 

have  succeeded  by  beginning  in  a  small  way  with  poultry 
or  fruit. 

The  knowledge  gained  in  this  way,  both  as  regards  the 
details  of  farming  and  concerning  methods  of  market- 
ing, finally  enables  the  beginner  to  abandon  his  city 
employment. 

Another  method  that  might  be  almost  equally  satisfac- 
tory would  be  to  buy  an  equipped  farm  of  forty  or  fifty 
acres,  at  a  price  around  $5,000,  paying  $1,000  cash.  In 
such  circumstances,  it  would  be  necessary  to  give  up  city 
employment,  as  there  would  be  plenty  of  work  to  occupy 
the  entire  family.  Any  industrious  man  getting  this  kind 
of  a  start  will  succeed.  The  principal  care  must  be  to 
raise  a  line  of  produce  for  which  there  is  a  good  cash 
demand  and  which  will  give  the  owner  something  to  sell 
every  week  in  the  year.  An  orchard  of  200  trees  and  a 
large  poultry  plant,  from  which  features  an  additional 
$3,000  might  be  cleaned  up,  could  be  added.  Instead 
of  the  orchard,  he  might  prefer  to  erect  two  or  three 
greenhouses,  and  produce  flowers.  The  profits  then  would 
be  still  larger.  Potatoes,  onions,  beans,  strawberries, 
celery  and  asparagus  pay  nicely. 

The  degree  of  success  depends  largely  on  the  man  and 
his  family.  Any  industrious  person  can  secure  a  fair 
income  and  a  comfortable  living  on  ten  acres.  He  can  do 
it  in  various  lines,  but  a  diversity  is  the  surest  way. 

A  plan  that  would  distribute  the  work  evenly  over  the 
season,  and  insure  a  fair  income,  would  include  three 
acres  of  corn,  two  of  pasture,  two  of  fruit,  two  of 
vegetables  and  one  for  buildings.  This  contemplates  a 
horse,  a  cow,  chickens,  ducks  and  a  few  pigs.  Something 
is  to  be  gained  by  using  the  orchard  land  for  vegetables, 
and  the  fruit  trees  will  be  benefited  by  this  regular  and 
thorough  cultivation. 


Good  Selling  Is  a  Farmer's  Need 

Nine-tenths  of  the  writing  on  agricultural  subjects  is 
devoted  to  production.  The  other  tenth  has  to  do  with 
selling.  It  is  time  to  reverse  this  system  of  giving  infor- 
mation to  the  farmer.  There  should  be  more  light  on 
methods  of  selling  produce,  and  less  on  the  way  to  raise  it. 

The  farmer  needs  to  be  shown  how  to  obtain  the  larg- 
est possible  returns  on  the  things  he  has  ready  for  market. 
His  proportion  of  what  the  ultimate  consumer  pays  is 
altogether  too  small.  That  is  where  he  needs  advice.  A 
little  practical  help  along  this  line  would  be  appreciated  by 
men  and  women  who  know  more  about  the  producing  end 
than  the  writers  who  are  so  prolific  with  ideas  on  how  to 
run  a  farm. 

As  a  rule,  farmers  make  poor  bargains.  They  buy 
wrong  and  sell  wrong,  and  are  apt  to  be  imposed  upon  by 
glib  brokers,  agents,  merchants  and  other  city  people  with 
whom  they  have  to  do  business.  The  farmer  needs  a  cer- 
tain kind  of  coaching.  He  may  be  an  expert  at  one  end  of 
the  business,  but  after  he  has  raised  a  nice  lot  of  hogs  or 
chickens,  or  a  crop  of  potatoes  and  corn,  he  is  at  the  mercy 
of  city  people  who  deal  in  such  products.  The  city  man 
fixes  the  price  on  all  the  farmer  has  to  sell,  as  well  as  on 
all  he  has  to  buy. 

A  berry  grower  in  Cherokee  county,  Kansas,  sold  his 
last  season's  crop  for  90  cents  a  crate.  In  one  crate  he 
placed  this  note :  "Will  the  buyer  of  this  crate  of  berries 
inform  the  undersigned,  who  grew  them,  how  much  he 
paid  for  them  ?"  In  due  time  a  reply  came  from  an  ulti- 
mate consumer,  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  saying  he  paid  $2.40 

70 


GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED  71 

for  the  crate.  Middlemen  got  $1.50  for  finding  a  buyer 
for  these  berries,  while  the  farmer,  who  did  all  the  work 
of  growing  them,  received  only  90  cents. 

The  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  by  the  establishment 
of  a  co-operative  buying  and  selling  bureau  for  all  Kan- 
sas farm  products,  will  undertake  to  save  the  unneces- 
sary middlemen's  profits  to  farmers  in  that  state.  This 
announcement,  made  by  President  Waters,  before  800 
farmers  in  the  co-operation  meeting  held  in  connection 
with  the  State  Farmers'  Institute,  was  greeted  with  cheers. 
By  resolutions,  unanimously  passed,  the  meeting,  after 
considering  many  plans,  with  a  determination  to  do 
something,  had  just  asked  the  college  to  establish  such 
a  bureau.  The  announcement  by  President  Waters, 
promptly  granting  the  request,  came  as  a  surprise. 

A  co-operative  bureau  at  the  agricultural  college  will 
be  the  first  of  that  kind  in  the  United  States.  When 
developed  to  its  highest  efficiency,  which  may  take  several 
years,  it  will  mean  a  saving  of  millions  of  dollars  to 
Kansas  farmers  annually.  It  will  shorten  the  distance 
between  the  producer  and  the  consumer,  thus  promoting 
direct  selling.  For  instance,  a  farmer  with  a  carload  of 
potatoes  to  sell  need  not  dispose  of  them  to  the  local 
commission  man.  Instead,  he  would  list  his  carload  with 
the  co-operative  bureau.  This  bureau,  in  touch  with 
markets  all  over  the  United  States,  would  immediately 
place  him  in  communication  with  a  market  for  his  pota- 
toes. Whereupon  the  farmer  would  ship  his  product 
direct  to  the  buyer. 

That  such  a  bureau  would  be  successful  was  apparent 
after  the  organization  of  a  clearing  house  for  apple  grow- 
ers and  apple  buyers,  a  year  ago.  The  college  had  helped 
farmers  to  find  good  seed  and  good  breeding  stock,  but 
the  clearing  house  was  the  first  assistance  offered  in 
marketing  produce.  Upon  the  announcement,  last  fall, 
that  the  college  was  again  prepared  to  open  a  clearing 


72  GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED 

house  for  apples,  140  letters  from  buyers  and  sellers  were 
received  in  one  day.  Between  300  and  400  cars  of  apples 
were  sold  through  this  department  of  the  extension  divi- 
sion last  fall.  Since  then  plans  for  the  organization  of 
the  co-operative  bureau  have  been  under  way. 

An  illustration  of  what  women  may  accomplish  in  mar- 
keting produce  is  furnished  by  the  experience  of  a  mother 
and  daughter  who  own  40  acres  near  a  provincial  town  in 
the  central  west.  The  entire  responsibility  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  place  and  the  care  of  the  family  fell  to 
their  lot  recently,  owing  to  the  protracted  illness  of  the 
husband  and  father. 

The  following  table  will  show  in  itself  about  how  the 
farm  is  divided  as  to  crops,  fruits,  pasturage,  and  the  way 
the  work  is  diversified.  The  figures  represent  one  year's 
gross  earnings : 

Milk  from  ten  cows $1,400 

Three  hundred  pounds  honey,  at  20  cents 60 

Ten  hogs  fattened,  at  eleven  months 225 

Eggs  from  200  hens 240 

Fruit  and  vegetables 160 

Surplus  poultry  sold 75 

$2,160 

About  $600  may  be  deducted  from  this  total  for  wages, 
groceries,  repairs  and  mill  feed ;  but  their  apiary,  orchard 
and  dairy  herd  are  worth  several  hundred  dollars  more 
than  at  the  beginning  of  the  year. 

These  women  have  their  horse  and  carriage,  and  par- 
ticipate in  most  of  the  social  affairs  of  the  neighborhood. 
Their  life  is  not  all  work,  but  is  strenuous  enough  even 
for  these  days,  when  there  is  a  premium  set  on  people 
who  do  things. 

They  say  that  if  they  were  farther  from  town,  and 
could  not  have  private  customers  for  their  produce,  they 


GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED  73 

could  make  up  the  loss  by  raising  more  hogs  and  potatoes 
or  such  products  as  do  not  require  too  great  a  proportion 
of  man  labor. 

By  adding  a  half-acre  of  cucumbers  and  an  acre  of 
strawberries,  they  are  now  able  to  hire  more  help  for  the 
out-door  work,  without  decreasing  the  net  earnings  of 
the  little  farm. 

These  women  farmers,  one  of  whom  was  equally  suc- 
cessful as  a  schoolteacher,  use  their  brains  as  well  as 
their  hands,  and  their  affairs  are  systematically  managed, 
so  that  each  class  of  work  gets  proper  attention  at  the 
proper  time. 

I  have  found  that  the  production  of  market  cream  pays 
well.  It  is  always  salable,  costs  less  to  ship  than  the  whole 
milk,  and  returns  more  than  can  be  gained  by  any  other 
method  of  handling. 

The  eight-gallon  can  of  milk  brings  $i  to  $1.25  at 
wholesale,  but  the  cream  from  the  same  quantity  brings 
$1.50,  besides  leaving  more  than  six  gallons  of  warm 
skimmed  milk  for  calves,  pigs  and  poultry.  There  is  a 
further  saving  in  hauling  and  expressage. 

If  the  producer  serves  private  customers  only,  he  gains 
the  profits  of  both  retailer  and  wholesaler.  The  increasing 
demand  for  cream  for  family  use,  ice  cream  and  cooking 
forms  a  desirable  outlet  for  dairy  products.  There  is 
no  danger  of  over-production.  Separating  machinery  is 
cheap  and  simple. 

The  easiest  way  to  increase  an  income  without  greatly 
increasing  cost  is  by  raising  the  margin  of  profit  by  pro- 
ducing products  of  high  quality,  marketing  them  at  the 
right  time,  at  the  right  market,  and  in  a  neat  and  attractive 
manner. 

The  expense  of  marketing  poultry  products  is  rela- 
tively small,  as  they  contain  a  high  value  in  small  bulk, 
and  can  be  shipped  considerable  distances  with  very  little 
loss.    The  best  trade  in  the  large  cities  pays  the  highest 


74  GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED 

premium,  and  where  one  can  ship  a  guaranteed  amount 
for  the  entire  year,  or  during  the  season,  of  a  product 
such  as  broilers,  he  can  safely  try  for  such  a  market ;  but 
where  his  output  is  limited,  it  is  a  waste  of  time.  There 
is  often  a  home  market  which,  with  a  little  care,  can  be 
developed  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  will  pay  the  small 
producer  much  better  than  the  larger  city  markets. 

According  to  the  poultryman's  location  and  production, 
he  may  choose  any  of  the  following  methods  of  disposing 
of  his  products : 

Selling  direct  to  the  consumer. 

Selling  direct  to  the  retailer. 

Selling  to  the  commission  merchant. 

Selling  direct  to  the  consumer  offers  the  greatest  returns 
for  the  products,  as  all  expenses  of  commission,  etc.,  are 
eliminated.  This  market  is,  however,  usually  limited, 
unless  a  parcel  post  trade  is  secured  in  a  city  or  village, 
in  which  case  he  can  usually  develop  a  retail  patronage 
which  will  take  his  entire  output. 

The  most  satisfactory  method  of  selling  direct  to  con- 
sumers is  to  supply  hotels,  restaurants  and  clubs,  they 
usually  contracting  for  the  entire  output,  for  which  they 
are  generally  willing  to  pay  a  premium,  and  it  is  much 
easier  to  ship  the  entire  production  to  one  place  at  certain 
definite  times  than  to  spend  much  time  and  labor  in  divid- 
ing the  same  amount  among  many  small  consumers. 

In  many  cases  it  will  be  possible  to  sell  one's  eggs  and 
dressed  poultry  direct  to  some  retail  grocer,  who  in  turn 
will  be  glad  to  get  them  and  pay  a  good  price,  as  he  can 
sell  them  to  his  high-class  trade,  and,  knowing  that  they 
are  perfectly  fresh,  can  develop  a  good  business  for  the 
poultryman.  It  may  be  necessary  to  go  to  some  distant 
city  or  distributing  point  to  find  this  market,  but  it  will 
always  pay,  when  once  secured. 

Make  every  customer  a  friend,  and  each  will  bring 
you  another  customer.     The  endless  chain  will  then  be 


GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED  75 

begun,  the  possibilities  of  which  no  one  cares  to  limit. 
To  make  every  customer  a  friend,  it  is  necessary  to  treat 
him  well,  to  have  the  stock  sold  a  little  better  than  it  has 
been  described,  to  give  full  value  and  something  over  on 
each  order.  Sell  only  first-class  stock.  Don't  let  the 
temptation  of  a  few  immediate  dollars  lead  you  to  send 
out  stock  that  will  not  be  a  good  advertisement  for  you. 
Every  fowl  sold  is  a  good  advertisement,  if  the  fowl  is 
good — a  bad  advertisement,  if  the  fowl  is  a  bad  one. 
Don't  use  a  cull,  even  if  you  sell  it  for  a  cull.  The  buyer 
will  say  to  some  one  that  he  bought  the  specimen  of  you, 
and  will  be  sure  to  forget  to  add  that  he  bought  it  as  a 
cull.  Culls  are  a  bad  advertisement — trade-killers,  not 
trade-bringers.  They  will  help  to  bury  you  in  obscurity, 
not  to  bring  you  prominence.  Be  strictly  honest.  Tell 
things  as  they  are.  Get  a  reputation  for  doing  just  what 
you  promise  to  do,  of  selling  just  what  you  offer  to  sell. 
Be  prompt.  People  like  promptness  in  business.  If  you 
say  you  will  make  a  shipment  of  fowls  on  Monday,  ship 
them  on  Monday,  so  as  not  to  disappoint  the  customer. 
If  the  shipment  is  unavoidably  delayed,  write  the  cus- 
tomer and  tell  him  the  fact  and  the  reason  for  it. 

The  most  prosperous  farmers  are  those  who  have  had 
the  good  sense  to  organize  in  communities,  to  control  the 
supply  of  their  products,  to  market  them  intelligently,  and 
place  them  on  sale  at  a  time  when  the  demand  is  normal 
and  at  fair  prices.  Slowly  the  benefits  of  organization  are 
becoming  recognized ;  but  not  until  it  has  been  generally 
adopted,  and  its  power  exercised  in  its  broadest  sense,  will 
the  farmers  of  America  come  to  that  prosperity  which 
their  industry  and  their  importance  entitle  them  to. 

It  requires  more  business  ability,  a  higher  executive 
faculty,  to  run  a  fruit  farm  than  to  run  a  grain  farm.  If 
you  have  a  hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  oats,  potatoes  or 
corn  to  sell,  you  take  it  to  the  nearest  market  and  accept 
whatever  you  are  offered.    It  is  not  always  so  with  fruit, 


76  GOOD  SELLING  IS  A  FARMER'S  NEED 

for  you  can  retail  the  fruit  or  can  more  often  fix  the  price 
for  the  fruit  than  you  can  for  ordinary  farm  produce. 
Business  ability  is  required  in  learning  where  is  the  best 
market  for  fruit  of  a  certain  character  or  kind.  It  is  a 
fact  that  while  a  certain  fruit  may  be  cheap  in  New 
York,  it  may  sell  at  a  profitable  price  in  Boston,  Pitts- 
burgh, or  in  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Chicago  or  St.  Louis. 

The  man  who  sells  fruit  should  be  thoroughly  posted  on 
its  value,  and  should  inform  the  purchaser  of  the  extra 
quality  of  certain  varieties. 

There  are  many  dishonest  commission  houses.  It  is  not 
safe  to  send  fruit  to  a  commission  house  which  is  not 
highly  recommended  to  you  or  with  which  you  have  not 
had  satisfactory  experience. 

An  Associated  Press  dispatch  says:  "Unskillful 
handling  of  poultry  and  eggs  costs  the  people  of  the 
United  States  $45,000,000  annually,  is  the  conclusion  of 
the  Kansas  State  board  of  health,  after  six  months'  in- 
vestigation, in  which  expert  produce  men  from  the  de- 
partment of  agriculture  were  used.  The  price  of  eggs 
is  high,  says  the  report,  and  competition  is  keen,  but  the 
producer  gains  nothing,  not  because  there  is  a  combina- 
tion to  keep  the  original  price  to  the  wholesaler  down, 
but  because  of  the  manner  in  which  eggs  and  poultry  are 
handled.  Because  of  the  large  number  of  farmers  who 
are  careless  in  marketing  their  eggs,  the  careful  farmer 
is  forced  to  accept  the  same  price  as  is  paid  his  less  in- 
dustrious neighbor.  In  Kansas  alone,  this  loss  is  estimated 
at  more  than  $1,000,000  a  year." 


Parcels  Post  Brings  Dinner  Fresh  from  Farm 

Farmers  living  anywhere  within  fifty  miles  of  a  city  may 
send  packages  of  ten  pounds  to  their  customers  for  32 
cents.  They  do  not  have  to  haul  them  to  an  express 
office  three  or  four  miles  away,  but  the  rural  route  wagons 
pick  them  up  and  they  are  delivered  in  town  almost  as 
promptly  as  are  letters  or  other  mailable  articles.  The 
new  law  allows  the  transportation  of  any  kind  of  produce, 
provided  it  is  securely  wrapped.  Eggs,  honey,  berries, 
butter  and  cream  are  not  excluded,  but  they  must  be  so 
packed  that  they  can  not  damage  other  mail  matter.  Such 
products  are  to  be  marked  "Perishable." 

The  system  of  handling  country  produce  has  been  both 
expensive  and  bad.  Fresh  eggs,  pure  cream  and  dainty 
things  like  broilers  and  sausage  have  been  hard  to  get  at 
any  price.  Such  articles  are  only  an  aggravation  when 
they  are  stale  and  handled  in  promiscuous  lots.  Under 
the  new  plan,  a  ten-pound  Sunday  dinner,  or  such  a  ship- 
ment any  day  or  every  day,  will  go  straight  from  the 
farmer  to  the  city  family,  at  a  cost  of  32  cents  for  postage. 
This  3  cents  a  pound  added  to  the  price  of  the  products  is 
a  trifle  compared  to  the  transportation  and  middlemen's 
charges  under  the  old  system. 

The  parcels  post  will  prove  a  boon  to  city  housekeepers 
in  enabling  them  to  deal  directly  with  producers  and 
secure  fresh  goods  for  table  use.  The  postoffice  depart- 
ment fixes  eleven  pounds  as  the  maximum  for  parcels. 
This  is  sufficient  to  carry  the  main  ingredients  of  a  Sun- 
day dinner  for  a  city  family,  and  there  is  nothing  to  pre- 
vent the  forwarding  of  more  than  one  package.    It  is  not 

77 


78  PARCELS  POST  BRINGS  DINNER 

only  in  the  line  of  economy  to  thus  deal  with  producers, 
but  the  quality  of  edibles  consumed  by  a  household  will  be 
improved. 

In  nearly  all  discussions  of  the  parcels  post  scheme  the 
advantages  to  city  housekeepers  have  been  obscured  by 
questions  affecting  country  merchants  and  express  com- 
panies. The  vital  thing  with  a  majority  of  people  is  the 
effect  on  the  cost  of  living.  It  is  entirely  feasible  for  tens 
of  thousands  of  families  in  large  cities  to  establish  direct 
buying  connections  with  producers.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  important  thing  to  the  farmer  is  not  his  ability  to  get 
goods  from  mail-order  houses  more  conveniently,  but  the 
establishment  of  facilities  by  which  he  can  obtain  approxi- 
mately the  retail  rate  for  miscellaneous  produce.  The  new 
system  will  enable  him  to  go  into  mixed  and  intensive 
farming,  and  make  daily  cash  sales  to  consumers  at  fair 
prices. 

There  has  been  a  constant  outcry  among  farmers 
against  the  alleged  extortions  of  middlemen.  The  unsat- 
isfactory handling  of  poultry  and  eggs,  fruits,  honey, 
squabs  and  other  delicacies  has  driven  many  farmers  out 
of  these  lines.  They  have  missed  the  big  profits  because 
of  bad  selling  facilities,  and  in  a  sense  have  been  forced 
to  confine  their  operations  to  one  or  two  staples  like  grain 
or  milk.  With  producers  in  a  helpless  condition,  the  large 
buying  companies  have  controlled  the  trade,  much  to  the 
disadvantage  of  farmers  generally. 

The  widespread  movement  just  now  to  correct  unjust 
conditions  in  the  milk  industry  is  one  indication  that 
American  farmers  are  trying  to  get  out  of  the  rut  and  do 
things  as  business  men  would  do  them. 

The  earning  capacity  of  land  is  fully  twice  as  much  in 
mixed  farming  as  under  a  dairy  or  grain  system.  There 
should  be  a  balanced  programme  of  poultry,  hogs,  cows, 
vegetables  and  fruit.  These  things  belong  together,  and 
insure  an  even  distribution  of  labor  and  a  regular  cash 


PARCELS  POST  BRINGS  DINNER  79 

income.  The  consumptive  demand  is  keen  and  seems  to 
be  growing  more  urgent  year  by  year.  Prices  for  a 
variety  of  commodities  are  on  such  a  high  level  that 
liberal  profits  are  assured  as  soon  as  selling  arrangements 
are  right. 

A  factor  that  should  have  a  marked  influence  in  im- 
proving the  farmers'  chances  of  finding  good  markets  for 
new  laid  eggs  is  the  parcels  post  now  in  experimental 
operation.  Doubtless  it  will  not  be  long  before  enter- 
prising manufacturers  will  follow  the  lead  of  German 
manufacturers  and  place  upon  the  market  boxes  suitable 
for  carrying  even  so  fragile  things  as  eggs  safely  through 
the  mail.  When  these  are  obtainable  and  when  the  parcel 
post  service  gets  in  good  working  order,  farmers  in 
even  out-of-the-way  places,  but  with  first-class  eggs  to 
sell,  can  easily  work  up  trade  with  special  customers  in 
nearby  or  even  in  distant  towns  and  cities.  The  out- 
look for  such  developments  has  never  been  better. 

The  celery  growers  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  in  one  year 
grew  800,000  boxes  of  celery,  each  containing  six  dozen 
stalks.  The  value  of  this  crop  is  $800,000 — one  dollar  a 
box. 


Soil  Improvement  and  More  Profitable 

Farming 

Grain  crops  in  America  are  altogether  too  light  and 
uncertain  for  profitable  agriculture.  This  is  largely  due 
to  lax  methods  of  cultivation.  In  nearly  all  cases  where 
soil  impoverishment  is  the  direct  cause  of  unsuccessful 
farming,  it  can  be  shown  that  fertilization  and  the  rota- 
tion of  crops  have  been  neglected. 

This  is  true  on  thousands  of  farms  where  the  equip- 
ment is  ample  and  the  work  of  plowing  and  seeding  is 
quite  thorough.  The  proof  is  clear  that  many  land- 
owners do  not  give  attention  to  soil  conservation.  It  is 
owing  to  this  that  much  of  the  best  land  is  deteriorating. 
In  the  newer  states  of  the  west,  where  large  farms  are  the 
rule,  and  the  soil  is  still  rich,  a  common  fault  is  improper 
methods  of  tillage. 

Despite  the  fertility  of  soil  and  the  benefits  of  climate, 
the  wheat  yield  per  acre  annually  is  less  than  14  bushels, 
while  England's  is  32,  Germany's  28,  Holland's  34  and 
France's  20.  Oats  make  an  equally  distressing  showing 
in  comparison ;  and  potatoes  yield  85  bushels  to  the  acre 
in  this  country,  against  200  or  more  in  Great  Britain, 
Belgium  and  Germany. 

The  average  yield  of  corn  per  acre  is  28  to  35  bushels, 
as  shown  by  official  statistics ;  but  in  all  contests,  no  mat- 
ter where  held,  a  yield  of  100  to  125  bushels  is  commonly 
obtained.  In  many  instances  of  competitive  corn-raising, 
tracts  which  had  formerly  produced  25  to  50  bushels  per 
acre  have  in  the  hands  of  experts  yielded  upward  of  100 
bushels. 

80 


SOIL  IMPROVEMENT  81 

These  are  powerful  arguments  in  favor  of  careful  and 
intelligent  farming.  Landowners  ought  to  perceive  that 
the  real  profits  in  grain  production  only  come  when  crops 
above  the  average  are  raised.  Agriculture  is  a  sorrowful 
spectacle  when  men  with  a  suitable  equipment  of  animals 
and  machinery  secure  10  to  12  bushels  of  wheat  and  20 
to  25  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  on  our  rich  virgin  soils, 
while  in  European  countries  the  average  is  twice  or  three 
times  as  much.  It  must  be  remembered  that  when  the 
average  of  a  crop  is  14  bushels  a  great  many  farmers  fall 
below  this  figure  and  these  constitute  failures  which 
are  both  pitiful  and  unnecessary. 

A  number  of  essential  principles  must  be  adopted  by 
farmers  if  they  are  to  raise  profitable  crops.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  supply  nitrogen  for  corn  and  wheat  by  growing 
legumes,  but  before  leguminous  crops,  such  as  clover  and 
alfalfa,  can  be  grown,  nearly  every  acre  of  land  must  be 
limed  to  correct  the  acidity.  Fortunately  there  is  an 
abundance  of  lime.  Crushed  lime  rock  can  be  purchased 
in  carload  quantities  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  $3  per  ton 
laid  down  at  any  railroad  station. 

The  physical  condition  of  the  soil  is  injured  by  loss  of 
organic  matter.  As  the  organic  matter  is  destroyed  the 
soils  become  less  mellow,  they  plow  up  hard  and  lumpy, 
they  crust  severely  after  rains  and  cultivate  with  greater 
difficulty.  The  crusting  of  the  soil,  due  to  the  lack  of 
organic  matter,  is  perhaps  the  most  serious  physical  de- 
fect. When  soils  crust  badly  it  becomes  almost  impossi- 
ble to  successfully  start  such  crops  as  alfalfa  and  grasses, 
and  difficulty  is  sometimes  experienced  in  securing  a 
good  stand  of  crops  like  wheat  and  corn. 

The  liberation  of  plant  food  from  the  soil  is  directly 
dependent  upon  the  supply  of  organic  matter.  Organic 
matter  is  also  the  food  of  a  countless  number  of  beneficial 
bacteria  that  inhabit  every  fertile  soil.  These  bacteria 
are  largely  responsible  for  the  liberation  of  plant  food 


82  SOIL  IMPROVEMENT 

from  the  soil  particles.  It  therefore  follows  that  as  the 
supply  of  organic  matter  becomes  less  the  number  of 
beneficial  bacteria  decreases  and  less  plant  food  is  made 
available.  Soils  deficient  in  organic  matter  hold  less 
moisture  than  those  well  supplied  with  humus.  Humus, 
or  organic  matter,  is  spongy  in  nature  and  when  incor- 
porated in  the  earth  holds  the  soil  grains  apart,  giving 
large  openings  into  the  soil  for  water  to  enter,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  spongy  nature  of  the  organic  matter  holds 
the  water  within  the  soil  after  it  has  entered.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  ioo  pounds  of  sand  will  hold  approximately 
22  pounds  of  water,  and  ioo  pounds  of  clay  about  55 
pounds  of  water,  but  100  pounds  of  humus  will  hold  143 
pounds  of  water.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  the  more 
humus  a  soil  contains  the  greater  its  water  holding 
capacity. 

The  organic  matter  or  humus  must  be  supplied  either 
by  plowing  under  leguminous  crops  and  straw  and  corn- 
stalks or  by  using  for  feed  and  bedding  all  the  crops 
grown  on  the  farm  and  returning  the  manure  to  the  land 
with  the  least  loss  possible. 

A  rotation  suggested  is  corn  with  one-half  the  field 
seeded  to  a  legume  such  as  sweet  clover  or  alfalfa,  fol- 
lowed the  second  season  with  barley  or  oats,  with  one- 
half  the  land  in  cowpeas  or  soy  beans  where  the  winter 
catch  crop  has  been  plowed  under;  third  year,  wheat  or 
rye,  in  which  clover  or  meadow  grass  has  been  sown; 
fourth  year,  clover,  or  clover  and  timothy;  fifth  year, 
wheat  and  clover,  or  timothy  and  clover;  sixth  year, 
clover  or  mixed  grass  crop.  In  succeeding  chapters 
other  combinations  suitable  to  mixed  farming  are  set 
forth. 

In  grain  farming  most  of  the  coarse  products  should  be 
returned  to  the  soil  and  occasionally  a  crop  of  clover 
clipped  and  left  on  the  ground.  To  avoid  clover  sickness 
it  may  sometimes  be  necessary  to  sow  red  clover  or  alsike 


SOIL  IMPROVEMENT  83 

for  about  every  third  rotation.  Where  the  growth  of 
corn  is  not  too  rank,  cowpeas  or  soy  beans  make  a  satis- 
factory catch  crop  and  these  may  well  be  used  in  suc- 
cessive rotations  to  prevent  insect  or  fungous  pests  ob- 
taining a  foothold  through  the  too  continuous  use  of 
clover.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  roots  of  clover 
contain  one-half  as  much  nitrogen  as  the  tops  and  the 
roots  of  cowpeas  only  about  one-tenth  as  much  as  the 
tops.  In  grain  crops  about  two-thirds  of  the  nitrogen 
is  deposited  in  the  grain  and  one-third  in  the  stalk  and 

roots. 

On  all  lands  not  subject  to  overflow  phosphorus  should 
be  applied  in  considerably  larger  amounts  than  are  re- 
quired for  the  need  of  the  crop  actually  growing  at  that 
time.  The  fine  ground  natural  rock  phosphate  can  be 
used  successfully  and  is  the  most  economical  form  of 
phosphorus  in  all  crop  systems.  The  first  application 
should  be  at  least  one-half  ton  per  acre,  and  a  ton  would 
be  better.  Subsequently  one-half  ton  applied  every  four 
to  six  years  will  suffice  until  the  total  phosphorus  con- 
tained in  the  soil  reaches  2,000  pounds  per  acre.  This 
will  require  a  total  application  of  five  to  six  tons  of  raw 
phosphate. 

For  quick  action  and  in  emergencies  steamed  bone  meal 
or  acid  phosphate  may  be  used,  but  this  is  a  much  more 
expensive  form  than  the  ground  natural  rock.  Good 
phosphate  direct  from  the  mine  in  carload  lots  costs  about 
3  cents  per  pound,  while  steamed  bone  meal  costs  12 
cents  per  pound,  and  acid  phosphate  12  cents. 

The  loss  of  phosphorus  by  leaching  is  very  small  un- 
less the  land  is  subject  to  overflow  or  excessive  drain- 
age, so  that  erosion  losses  occur.  Phosphorus  applied 
is  not  removed  except  in  the  form  of  mature  crops. 
Phosphorus  and  limestone  may  be  applied  at  any  time 
during  the  rotation,  but  the  limestone  is  best  applied  on 
plowed  land  so  that  it  may  be  worked  into  the  soil  dur- 


84  SOIL  IMPROVEMENT 

ing  the  process  of  cultivation.  Phosphate  is  best  applied 
either  with  manure  or  spread  on  the  land  broadcast  just 
before  a  clover  crop  or  clover  stubble  is  plowed  under. 

Farmers  have  been  taught  that  the  conditions  existing 
in  land  that  has  been  newly  brought  into  cultivation  from 
forest  conditions  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  soil  abounds 
in  humus,  or  organic  decay,  and  that  this  humus,  while 
containing  plant  food,  has  a  larger  office  in  the  darkening 
of  the  soil  and  thus  rendering  it  more  retentive  of 
warmth.  It  makes  the  soil  mellow  and  prevents  its  crust- 
ing and  baking  hard,  and  above  all  makes  it  retentive  of 
moisture  so  that  crops  are  carried  through  a  dry  spell 
more  successfully. 

In  most  of  our  old  soils  the  long  continued  and  care- 
less cultivation  has  robbed  the  soil  of  this  valuable  humus 
and  any  effort  towards  its  improvement  must  depend  on 
the  bringing  back  of  the  conditions  that  existed  in  the 
freshly  cleared  soil. 

The  legume  crops  then  not  only  enable  us,  through 
bacterial  life  that  exists  with  them,  to  gather  the  nitrogen 
that  floats  as  a  gas  in  the  air  and  get  it  combined  in  the 
soil  for  the  use  of  crops,  but  they  enable  us  to  restore 
to  the  soil  the  humus  making  materials  that  were 
formerly  supplied  by  the  forest  growth. 

With  cowpeas  and  crimson  clover  the  whole  face  of  the 
country  has  been  changed  in  many  localities  where  for- 
merly the  soil  was  virtually  worn  out.  There  are  splen- 
did farms  and  farmers  growing  rich  on  lands  formerly 
thought  to  be  worthless. 

The  humus  restored  to  the  soil  through  these  legumes 
has  enabled  farmers  to  use  commercial  fertilizers  more 
profitably,  because  the  moisture-retaining  nature  of  the 
organic  decay  dissolves  the  fertilizer  that  would  have 
been  almost  useless,  and  the  growing  of  truck  and  small 
fruits  for  the  leading  markets  has  developed  in  a  won- 
derful way. 


SOIL  IMPROVEMENT  85 

The  old  sandy  fields  were  almost  destitute  of  humus, 
but  the  cowpea  and  the  crimson  clover  have  restored  it, 
and  hence  there  has  been  success  attending  the  efforts  of 
the  farmers. 

Through  growing  legumes  and  feeding  them  to  stock 
and  returning  the  manure  to  the  ground,  we  can  profitably 
restore  the  new  soil  conditions. 

The  cowpea  will  grow  on  the  poorest  of  soils  and  over 
all  the  south  is  the  most  valuable  of  legumes,  and  in  the 
north  it  can  be  profitably  used  to  get  the  moisture-retain- 
ing humus  in  the  soil  and  thus  help  in  the  restoration  of 
the  conditions  that  formerly  existed  when  clover  did 
flourish  and  where  it  now  fails. 

After  a  crop  of  rye  or  oats  is  taken  off  in  the  early 
summer  there  is  plenty  of  time  to  disk  or  plow  the  field 
and  sow  soy  beans  for  a  late  summer  crop.  It  can  be 
used  as  pasturage  or  for  hay. 

Plants  in  their  growth  make  use  of  thirteen  chemical 
elements,  nine  of  which  they  secure  directly  from  the  soil. 
These  are  called  the  mineral  plant  foods ;  they  are  phos- 
phorus, potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  sodium,  iron, 
silicon,  chlorin  and  sulphur. 


Soil  Conservation  Easy  to  Understand 

It  is  easy  to  grasp  the  main  essentials  of  soil  improve- 
ment, and  it  is  important  that  considerable  study  be  given 
to  this  subject.  Many  farms  now  on  the  market  are  run 
down  and  need  a  little  scientific  attention,  and  thousands 
of  farmers  are  wishing  that  they  knew  how  to  build  up 
the  fertility  of  their  land. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  is  a  rotative  scheme  which 
will  tax  the  land  less  severely  than  exclusive  grain  grow- 
ing does.  A  variety  of  crops  not  only  increases  the 
amount  of  cultivation,  but  adds  numerous  good  elements 
as  the  stubble  or  plant  growth  is  plowed  under. 

Then,  as  all  our  lands  have  become  deficient  in  phos- 
phates, wheat  should  always  have  a  good  application  of 
acid  phosphate.  This  will  suffice  if  the  preceding  culti- 
vated crop  has  been  planted  on  a  clover  sod  on  which 
farm  manure  has  been  spread.  In  fact,  where  there  is  a 
good,  short  rotation  and  plenty  of  legume  crops  are 
grown  and  fed,  there  will  never  be  any  need  for  the  pur- 
chase of  nitrogen  in  fertilizer. 

Rapidly  growing  crops  require  an  ample  supply  of 
potassium  in  a  form  available  to  the  plants,  that  is,  soluble 
in  water.  Where  a  good  rotation  is  practiced  it  has  been 
found  that  the  cultivation  of  a  crop  like  corn  or  tobacco 
during  the  summer  makes  the  best  possible  preparation 
for  wheat,  oats  or  barley.  After  the  cultivated  crop  is 
off  the  best  preparation  is  the  rapid  and  frequent  use  of 
the  disk  harrow. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  uses  of  lime  and  plaster  is 
to  release  the  insoluble  potash  in  the  soil  and  the  accumu- 

86 


SOIL  CONSERVATION  EASY  87 

lation  of  organic  decay  with  its  humic  acids  will  also 
have  a  good  effect  in  rendering  the  potash  available. 

The  farmer  on  upland  clay  soils  who  practices  a  good 
rotation  and  maintains  and  increases  the  humus-making 
material  in  his  soil,  will  seldom  need  to  buy  potash  or 
nitrogen  if  he  limes  his  soil  once  in  four  or  five  years,  for 
the  legumes  will  give  him  the  nitrogen  and  the  lime  and 
organic  decay  will  help  release  the  potash. 

A  good  fertile  soil  is  one  that  has  a  considerable 
proportion  of  organic,  that  is,  vegetable  and  animal  mat- 
ter in  it.  The  most  of  this  is  in  a  dead  and  disintegrated 
condition,  but  some  of  it  is  in  living  forms  that  we  call 
bacteria.  These  minute  living  organisms  exist  in  the 
decaying  particles  and  could  not  live  in  this  soil  without 
them,  and  when  they  are  not  there  the  soil  is  called  dead. 
Heat  and  water,  when  excessive,  will  kill  them,  and  this 
sometimes  occurs.  They  need  both  heat  and  moisture, 
but  only  in  moderate  degrees. 

To  maintain  the  needed  bacteria  there  must  be  a  con- 
tinuous addition  of  decaying  as  well  as  living  vegetable 
matter  for  them  to  live  and  multiply  upon.  In  other 
words,  there  must  be  plenty  of  humus  in  the  soil,  for 
humus  is  decaying  organic  matter.  The  nitrogen  con- 
tent of  the  soil  is  largely  dependent  upon  and  often  exists 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  humus  there.  And  nitro- 
gen we  know  to  be  one  of  the  most  needful  elements  upon 
which  all  plants,  whether  large  or  small,  feed. 

The  legumes  contain  a  larger  proportion  of  nitrogen 
than  ordinary  vegetation.  There  are  some  soiling  crops 
that  may  be  considered  as  specially  valuable.  Buckwheat, 
rye  and  the  cowhorn  turnip  are  of  this  character.  They 
will  tame  and  benefit  wild  and  barren  soil  and  flourish 
over  a  wide  range  of  climate.  The  rye  must  be  turned 
under  promptly  in  springtime  before  it  drains  the  soil  of 
moisture. 


Lime  as  an  Adjunct  in  Farming 

Without  doubt  the  judicious  use  of  lime  on  the  fields 
will  greatly  increase  the  aggregate  yield  of  crops.  That 
this  liming  must  be  done  intelligently  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  there  are  some  plants  that  grow  better  on  soils 
in  which  there  is  an  abundance  of  acids  than  on  soils  in 
which  the  acid  has  been  neutralized  by  the  application 

of  lime. 

These  plants,  however,  are  in  the  minority ;  and,  taking 
the  plant  creation  as  a  whole,  far  more  is  gained  by 
liming  than  not  liming.  When,  however,  the  subject  is 
sufficiently  studied,  it  will  be  found  possible  to  leave 
some  areas  unlimed  on  which  to  grow  the  plants  that  do 
best  in  an  acid  soil. 

For  the  growing  of  all  leguminous  plants  an  acidy  soil 
is  objectionable.  This  is  because  the  minute  forms  of 
vegetable  life  that  we  call  bacteria  are  destroyed  by  the 
acid  in  the  soil,  if  that  acid  exists  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties. These  forms  of  vegetable  life  are  necessary  to  the 
development  on  the  roots  of  the  legumes  of  the  little  knots 
or  protuberances  that  we  call  nodules.  In  these  nodules 
the  bacteria  live  that  take  the  gas  nitrogen  and  reduce  it 
to  a  tangible  form  that  can  be  dissolved  in  water  and  thus 
become  plant  food. 

It  is  evident  that  if  these  vegetable  forms  of  life  can- 
not live  in  the  soils  on  account  of  the  acid  no  work  of 
transforming  the  nitrogen  can  go  on.  In  that  case  plants 
that  bear  pods  will  grow  well  only  so  long  as  they  are 
supplied  with  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium  from 
the  soil  or  are  given  their   nitrogen   in   the   form  of 

88 


LIME  AS  AN  ADJUNCT  89 

manures.  But  they  do  not  render  any  service  in  securing 
nitrogen  from  the  great  storehouse  of  the  air.  But  that 
is  one  of  the  main  things  for  which  we  grow  pod-bearing 
plants. 

The  man  who  sows  clover  on  a  well-manured  field  can- 
not tell  whether  his  clover  crop  is  getting  any  nitrogen 
from  the  air  or  not  and  many  a  farmer  is  deceived  in  this 
way.  He  grows  the  clover  for  a  year  or  two  and  then 
turns  under  the  clover  sod,  believing  that  he  has  thus 
added  to  the  nitrogen  in  his  soil.  But  as  the  soil  had  in  it 
much  acid,  the  bacteria  did  not  exist  and  the  farmer  had 
really  been  removing  nitrogen  from  his  field  in  the  clover 
and  hay  crops,  leaving  the  soil  with  less  nitrogen  in  it 
than  it  had  before  he  sowed  his  clover. 

If  a  man  wishes  to  find  whether  his  soil  contains  too 
much  acid  for  leguminous  (or  pod-bearing)  crops,  let  him 
sow  his  clover  seed  on  soil  that  has  not  been  manured  at 
all  or  that  has  not  been  manured  for  many  years.  Better 
still,  let  him  buy  some  seed  of  sweet  clover  and  sow 
that.  If  this  plant  grows  well  he  does  not  need  lime; 
for  it  will  not  grow  where  there  is  a  large  amount  of 
acid  in  the  soil.  But  many  soils  will  be  so  acidy  that 
these  plants  will  not  grow  at  all  or  will  make  a  sickly 
growth. 

In  that  case  lime  should  be  applied.  It  is  safe  to  apply 
it  at  the  rate  of  a  ton  to  the  acre,  and  if  in  the  form  of 
carbonate  of  lime  more  can  be  used  without  any  injury 
to  the  crops  or  the  soil.  Lime  can  be  applied  either  in 
the  form  of  quicklime  or  in  the  form  of  carbonate  of  lime. 


Phosphorus  as  a  Soil  Preserver 

When  the  University  of  Illinois  thrashed  its  wheat  on 
an  experiment  field  in  McLean  county,  agricultural  his- 
tory was  made.  Upon  the  plots  on  which  phosphorus 
was  one  of  the  fertilizing  ingredients  the  crop  was  more 
than  doubled,  a  record  believed  to  be  without  precedent. 
In  the  plots  in  which  the  phosphorus  treatment  bore  a 
part  the  average  yield  was  more  than  fifty-eight  and  a 
half  bushels  an  acre,  an  average  gain  of  thirty-four  and 
a  half  bushels  an  acre,  which  was  mainly  brought  about 
by  phosphorus  fertilizer. 

In  these  experiments  the  standard  application  of  phos- 
phorus in  steamed  bone  meal  has  been  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-five  pounds  an  acre  for  each  year  in  the  rotation. 
When  raw  rock  phosphate  is  used  about  three  times  as 
much  is  applied,  which  adds  three  times  as  much  phos- 
phorus to  the  soil  but  at  about  the  same  cost  for  the 
bone.  After  two  or  three  rotations  the  amount  of  rock 
phosphate  to  be  applied  will  be  reduced  to  one-third  of  the 
present  applications. 

"The  key  to  permanent  agriculture  is  phosphorus," 
said  Dr.  Hopkins.  "To  maintain  or  increase  the  amount 
of  phosphorus  in  the  soil  makes  possible  the  growth  of 
clover  and  the  consequent  addition  of  nitrogen  from  the 
inexhaustible  supply  in  the  air,  and  with  the  addition  of 
decaying  organic  matter  in  clover  residues  and  in  manure 
made  in  large  part  from  clover,  hay  and  pasture  and 
from  the  larger  crops  of  corn  which  the  clover  helps  to 
produce,  comes  the  possibility  of  liberating  from  the  im- 
mense supply  in  the  soil  sufficient  potassium,  when  sup- 

90 


PHOSPHORUS  AS  A  SOIL  PRESERVER  91 

plemented  by  that  returned  in  manure  and  crop  residues, 
for  the  production  of  crops  for  at  least  thousands  of 
years." 

Then  he  sounds  this  warning  note  to  American  land 
owners : 

"If  the  supply  of  phosphorus  in  the  soil  is  steadily 
decreased  in  the  future  in  accordance  with  the  present 
most  common  farm  practice,  then  poverty  is  the  only 
future  for  the  people  who  till  the  common  prairie  lands 
of  Illinois.  And  this  does  not  refer  to  the  far  distant 
future  only,  for  the  turning  point  is  already  past  on  many 
Illinois  lands." 

Average  barn  manure  carries  10  to  15  pounds  nitrogen, 
5  to  9  pounds  phosphoric  acid  and  10  to  15  pounds  potash 
to  the  ton.  This  plant  food  is  in  a  fairly  soluble  condi- 
tion, and  is  readily  taken  up  by  the  plant.  For  market 
gardening  purposes  it  may  be  balanced  and  supplemented 
by  suitable  fertilizers  in  case  the  yield  is  not  up  to  ex- 
pectations. In  soggy  spots  slacked  lime  should  be  used. 
Where  the  crops  are  light  on  land  that  has  had  barnyard 
manure  and  good  cultivation  it  is  well  to  try  phosphorus. 

Nitrogen  is  free  as  air,  and  potassium  is  abundant  in 
nearly  all  of  the  soils.  Both  nitrogen  and  potassium  re- 
main in  the  straw  and  the  stalks,  and  in  the  farm  manure 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

Phosphorus,  on  the  contrary,  is  present  in  nearly  all 
soils  in  limited  amounts  and  it  is  being  continually  re- 
moved from  the  land. 

While  it  is  true  that  some  forms  of  soil  bacteria  prefer 
to  live  in  the  absence  of  free  oxygen,  the  large  mass  of 
soil  organisms  can  only  carry  out  their  life  processes  in 
the  presence  of  a  plentiful  supply  of  oxygen.  Every 
phase  of  soil  management  therefore  which  affects  in  any 
degree  the  amount  of  air  supplied  to  the  soil  is  a  regulator 
of  the  bacterial  activities  in  the  soil.  Among  these  im- 
portant phases  of  soil  management  are  tillage,  includ- 


92  PHOSPHORUS  AS  A  SOIL  PRESERVER 

ing  plowing  and  cultivation,  and  drainage.  It  is  obvious 
that  plowing  to  a  depth  of  four  inches  will  not  supply 
the  soil  with  the  amount  of  air  which  plowing  to  twice 
the  depth  will.  It  is  likewise  clear  that  when  a  soil  is 
water-logged,  or  partially  so,  or,  in  other  words,  when 
its  pores  are  filled  wholly  or  partly  by  water  instead  of 
air.  we  cannot  expect  that  a  sufficient  supply  of  oxygen 
will  be  maintained  there  for  crop  production,  and  these 
facts  hold  true  for  bacterial  development  in  soils.  Our 
study  therefore  of  the  oxygen  needs  of  soil  bacteria 
serves  to  emphasize  more  clearly  the  necessity  for 
rational  methods  of  tillage  and  drainage. 

No  farm  should  be  without  its  experiment  plot,  for  it 
has  been  by  experimental  work  only  that  anything  in  agri- 
culture has  become  known.  Knowing  the  history  of  a 
soil,  the  plot  or  field  experiment,  supplemented,  in  some 
instances,  by  chemical  and  physical  analyses,  tells  the 
farmer  the  best  plan  to  follow  with  the  particular  soil 
to  restore  it  to  full  power.  The  ratio  of  straw  to  grain 
tells  its  story  to  the  critical  eye.  If  for  several  years  the 
straw  production  is  abnormally  high  and  the  grain  pro- 
duction is  low,  these  facts  point  to  phosphorus  being 
needed.  If  the  leaves  of  the  grain  are  long,  loose,  hang- 
ing and  fluttering  and  the  stems  too  long  for  their  thick- 
ness, the  soil  probably  requires  calcium.  A  bright  green 
to  yellowish  colored  foliage  with  the  tips  of  the  leaves 
brown  or  reddish  in  color,  indicates  want  of  nitrogen. 

Broad-leaf  plants,  like  burdock  and  nettles,  indicate 
moisture,  while  narrow-leaf  plants  indicate  dryness. 
Nitrogen  is  abundant  where  chickweed  and  red  pimperel 
grow,  while  lack  of  nitrogen  is  indicated  by  jagged  chick- 
weed,  field  chickweed  and  vernal  whitlow-grass. 

Soil  that  is  rich  in  nitrate  of  soda  is  indicated  by  the 
presence  of  goose  foot,  oraches  and  burning  nettle,  Fox- 
gloves, spurry  and  corn  marigolds  indicate  calcium. 


Making  the  Most  of  Manure 

Farmers  who  live  near  enough  to  cities  or  villages  to 
warrant  them  in  buying  stable  manure  are  often  surprised 
when  they  attempt  this  to  find  that  the  available  supply 
has  been  engaged  by  gardeners,  nurserymen  and  seed- 
men,  and  at  higher  prices  than  they  can  pay.     Each  of 
these  works  land  that  is  much  richer  than  that  usually 
devoted  to  farm  crops.    They  can  afford  to  buy  to  make 
rich  soil  still  more  rich,  while  the  farmer  whose  land  is 
much  poorer  cannot  afford  to  buy  to  bring  it  into  condi- 
tion for  cultivation.     This  only  shows  that  soil  fertility 
tends  to  increase,  while  the  soil  that  is  already  poor,  if 
cultivated,  almost  inevitably  grows  still  poorer.    The  use 
of  commercial   fertilizers,   with  which   a  small  amount 
fertilizes  a  large  surface,  to  some  extent  offsets  this  dis- 
advantage of  the  poor  farmer.    It  costs  a  great  deal  less 
to  drill  with  a  grain  crop  three  to  four  dollars'  worth  of 
mineral  fertilizer  than  to  cover  the  surface  with  stable 
manure.    Besides,  the  commercial  fertilizer  can  always  be 
furnished  in  quantities  limited  only  by  the  ability  of  the 
farmer  to  buy.     The  commercial  fertilizer  is  easily  ap- 
plied, and  for  the  single  crop  it  produces  results  quite  as 
good  as  would  the  stable  manure.     Its  defect  is  that  it 
does  not  add  to  soil  fertility  as  the  manure  must  do,  and  it 
is  on  increase  of  productive  power  in  the  soil  more  than 
on  the  gain  from  single  crops  that  profit  in  farming  must 
depend. 

The  man  whose  land  is  already  rich  is  the  one  who  can 
best  afford  to  buy  commercial  manures.  If  he  buys  them 
he  can  only  save  himself  from  loss  by  putting  a  part  of 

93 


94  MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  MANURE 

their  plant  food  into  a  permanent  addition  to  the  fertility 
of  the  farm.  So  far  as  possible  the  clover  and  grass 
together  with  coarse  grain  and  corn-fodder  should  be 
fed  on  the  farm.  To  do  this  requires  capital,  for  it  im- 
plies choice  stock  which  will  pay  for  its  feed  and  leave 
the  manure  pile  as  profit.  It  also  generally  requires  that 
the  farmer  on  rich  land  shall  grow  something  that  only 
rich  soil  can  be  made  to  grow,  or  whose  production  is 
unusually  difficult.  Markets  are  always  glutted  with 
crops  that  can  be  grown  on  poor  land  and  with  the  least 
labor.  It  is  only  by  growing  something  that  pays  better 
than  the  staple  easily-grown  crops  that  money  can  be 
made  in  farming  under  present  conditions. 

Valuable  lessons  are  obtained  from  European  methods. 
The  city  of  Berlin  covers  an  area  of  20,000  acres,  and  the 
sewage  farms  owned  and  conducted  by  the  municipality 
cover  an  area  twice  the  size.  The  sewage  disposal  prob- 
lem has  nowhere  reached  the  development  that  is  found  in 
Berlin.  The  city  will  ultimately  sell  this  land  at  great 
profit  and  then  turn  to  some  biological  method  of  meet- 
ing the  problem  or  secure  more  land  and  go  on  with  the 
work  of  land  reclamation  in  connection  with  the  disposal 
of  the  city's  accumulations.  The  prevailing  mode  of  dis- 
posing of  sewage  by  pouring  it  into  streams  is  exceed- 
ingly wasteful.  It  represents  so  much  nitrogen  which 
has  been  extracted  from  the  soil,  and  which  ought,  by 
right,  to  be  returned  to  the  soil.  If  it  could  be  advan- 
tageously used,  it  would  represent  a  value  of  about 
$200,000,000  a  year  to  England  alone.  This,  however, 
is  distributed  over  a  quantity  of  three  billion  tons.  Sew- 
age is  so  complex  in  its  nature  that  the  recovery  of  its 
chemical  constituents  would  be  almost  a  hopeless  task. 
That,  however,  is  no  reason  why  some  method  should 
not  be  devised  of  utilizing  it  as  a  fertilizer.  Farmers 
have  endeavored  to  use  the  sludge  as  a  fertilizer ;  but  that 
is  not  always  practicable,  partly  because  of  the  chemical 


MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  MANURE  95 

character  of  the  sludge  and  partly  because  of  the  farm- 
er's distance  from  the  dumping  ground. 

We  are  slowly  learning  to  use  the  millions  of  tons  of 
corn  fodder  which  used  to  rot  in  the  furrow,  but  we 
have  scarcely  begun  to  comprehend  what  we  are  wasting 
by  the  negligent  care  of  our  manure  crop  or  of  the  inex- 
haustible store  of  nitrogen  which  envelops  the  earth  and 
which  could  be  put  into  the  soil  by  sowing  leguminous 
crops  like  clover,  alfalfa  and  cowpeas  more  liberally.  We 
are  wasting  our  land  by  not  farming  to  its  last  pound  of 
productivity.  We  are  wasting  even  our  weeds,  by  not 
carrying  a  band  of  sheep  on  every  one  hundred  acres. 
We  are  wasting  our  time  by  sowing  year  after  year  un- 
selected  seed  on  partially  tilled  soil,  by  milking  inferior 
cows  which  don't  pay  their  board;  we  are  guilty — all 
guilty  more  or  less — but,  fortunately,  we  know  it,  we 
are  ashamed  of  it,  but  not  ashamed  to  admit  it.  And  we 
are  going  to  do  better. 

If  any  of  our  young  men  from  the  farms  are  contem- 
plating a  professional  career,  we  suggest  that  before  they 
join  the  ranks  of  lawyers  or  physicians,  they  consider 
whether  the  science  of  agriculture  has  not  greater  attrac- 
tions. In  a  few  years  we  prophesy  that  every  progressive 
farming  community  will  have  in  its  service  an  expe- 
rienced soil  doctor,  whose  employment  will  not  only  be 
lucrative  to  himself,  but  will  pay  immense  dividends  to 
his  employers. 


Growing  Legumes  for  Soil  Betterment 

Along  the  Atlantic  coast  as  far  north  as  New  Jersey  and 
south  at  least  to  Georgia,  crimson  clover,  frequently  called 
German  clover,  thrives  as  a  winter  annual.  Like  all  the 
legumes  it  stores  up  much  nitrogen  and  greatly  enriches 
the  soil  in  this  element.  This  crop  deserves  a  much  wider 
field  of  usefulness  than  has  yet  been  accorded  it.  In  the 
northern  part  of  its  territory  it  should  be  sown  in  July. 
In  the  South,  September  is  supposed  to  be  the  best  time  to 
sow  it.  It  is  best  adapted  to  sowing  in  corn  or  cotton.  In 
sections  where  it  has  not  previously  been  grown  it  fre- 
quently fails,  apparently  from  lack  of  its  proper  bacteria. 
It  is  therefore  well  to  inoculate  the  seed  when  it  is  sown 
the  first  time. 

This  crop  furnishes  valuable  winter  pasture,  makes 
good  hay  if  cut  when  just  coming  into  full  flower,  and  is 
valuable  as  a  green  feed  in  spring.  It  helps  to  fill  the  gap 
in  the  soiling  system  between  green  wheat  and  early  corn. 
Perhaps  its  greatest  usefulness  is  in  a  green  manure.  It 
may  be  plowed  under  any  time  in  the  spring  and  be  fol- 
lowed by  corn  or  potatoes. 

In  this  connection,  the  practice  of  a  farmer  near 
Hagerstown,  Md.,  is  of  interest.  Ten  years  ago  he  be- 
gan sowing  crimson  clover  in  corn  at  the  last  plowing, 
covering  the  seed  with  the  cultivator,  and  using  10 
pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre.  In  the  spring  the  clover  was 
plowed  under  and  another  crop  of  corn  planted.  Ten 
consecutive  crops  of  corn  have  been  taken  from  this  field, 
a  crop  of  crimson  clover  being  plowed  under  each  spring. 
The  yield  of  corn  has  increased  during  that  time  from 

96 


GROWING  LEGUMES  FOR  SOIL  BETTERMENT    97 

about  35  bushels,  in  the  beginning,  to  about  50  bushels 
at  the  present  time.  Evidently  the  practice  was  a  good 
one  in  this  case. 

Those  who  are  not  familiar  with  crimson  clover  should 
try  it  on  a  small  scale  at  first,  as  there  have  been  many 
failures  with  it.  The  following  five-year  rotation  is  a 
good  one  on  stock  farms  in  middle  latitudes,  and  shows 
one  way  of  securing  the  benefits  of  crimson  clover  as  a 
green  manure:  Corn  with  crimson  clover  sown  at  last 
cultivation,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover  (common  red). 

The  vetches  can  be  made  to  occupy  a  somewhat  similar 
place  as  a  green  manure,  at  least  in  the  South. 

It  seldom  pays  to  turn  under  a  crop  of  cowpeas  in  the 
green  state.  It  is  better  practice  to  make  hay  of  them, 
feed  the  hay,  and  put  the  manure  back  on  the  land.  As 
is  the  case  with  all  legumes,  the  roots  of  the  cowpea  crop 
add  a  great  deal  of  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  and  have  a  marked 
effect  on  fertility.  If  a  heavy  green  crop  of  cowpeas  is 
plowed  under  in  the  autumn  it  is  best  not  to  plant  the 
land  until  the  following  spring.  A  very  good  plan  for 
bringing  up  the  fertility  of  a  worn-out  field  is  to  sow 
rye  in  the  fall,  plow  this  under  in  the  spring,  harrow 
thoroughly,  let  the  land  lie  a  month,  and  then  sow  cow- 
peas. Cut  the  peas  for  hay  and  sow  rye  again.  A  few 
seasons  of  such  treatment  will  restore  fertility  to  the 
soil.  Fortunately,  both  of  these  crops  will  grow  on  very 
poor  land. 

Almost  any  crop  may  be  used  as  a  green  manure,  as 
occasion  demands.  Those  previously  mentioned  are 
more  generally  used  for  this  purpose  than  others.  In 
plowing  up  clover  sod,  many  farmers,  particularly  on 
fields  most  in  need  of  manure,  wait  until  the  clover  is 
nearly  ready  to  cut  for  hay  before  plowing,  in  order 
to  get  the  additional  nitrogen  and  humus  thus  produced. 
Buckwheat  is  frequently  grown  as  a  green  manure.  This 
crop  is  planted  in  early  summer  or  late  spring  and  turned 


98    GROWING  LEGUMES  FOR  SOIL  BETTERMENT 

under  in  the  autumn.  Even  corn  and  sorghum  have  been 
used  for  this  purpose.  They  produce  large  amounts  of 
humus  when  thickly  planted.  Sufficient  time  should  be 
given  after  plowing  in  such  rank  growth  to  allow  the  soil 
to  settle  and  the  resulting  acids  to  wash  out  of  the  soil 
before  planting  another  crop.  In  southern  California, 
fenugreek  and  Canadian  field  peas  are  used  extensively 
as  winter  cover  crops  in  orchards.  They  are  then  plowed 
under  in  spring  as  green  manure. 

The  quickest  way  to  build  up  a  worn-out  soil  when 
barnyard  manure  is  not  plentiful  is  to  give  it  a  course 
of  treatment  like  that  just  described;  then  grow  only 
forage  crops,  buy  grain  to  feed  with  them,  and  return 
all  the  manure  thus  produced  to  the  land.  Dairy  farm- 
ing permits  such  a  system  to  be  practiced.  No  other  type 
of  farming  builds  up  land  so  rapidly. 

Another  type  that  gives  fairly  quick  results  is  to  grow 
a  succession  of  pasture  crops  for  hogs,  keep  the  hogs  on 
these  pastures  and  feed  them  a  fourth  to  a  half  ration  of 
grain. 

There  are  three  general  methods  of  supplying  humus 
to  the  soil.  The  first  and  best  is  the  addition  of  stable 
manure.  When  properly  managed  it  adds  large  quantities 
of  both  plant  food  and  humus.  But  manure  is  not  always 
available.  When  such  is  the  case,  the  best  thing  to  do 
is  to  make  it  available.  Raise  more  forage,  keep  more 
stock,  and  make  more  manure.  But  this  takes  time  and 
capital,  so  that  other  means  are  sometimes  necessary. 
When  stable  manure  is  not  to  be  had,  we  may  plant  crops 
for  the  purpose  of  turning  them  under,  thus  adding 
large  quantities  of  humus  at  comparatively  little  cost. 
Plowing  under  green  crops  is  called  green  manuring. 
Under  certain  conditions  this  is  an  excellent  practice. 

A  third  method  of  adding  humus  is  to  grow  crops  like 
clover  and  timothy.  These  crops  are  usually  left  down 
for  two  years  or  more.     During  this  time  their  roots 


GROWING  LEGUMES  FOR  SOIL  BETTERMENT    99 

thoroughly  penetrate  the  soil.  Old  roots  decay  and  new 
ones  grow.  When  the  sod  is  plowed  up,  more  or  less 
vegetable  matter  is  turned  under.  This,  with  the  mass 
of  roots  in  the  soil,  adds  no  small  amount  to  the  supply  of 
humus.  Another  advantage  from  the  cultivation  of 
clovers  and  alfalfa  is  found  in  the  fact  that  they  are  deep- 
rooted  plants,  and  when  their  roots  decay  they  leave 
channels  deep  into  the  earth,  thus  aiding  in  the  absorption 
of  rains  and  letting  in  air  to  sweeten  the  soil 

Properly  handled,  stable  manure  is  by  all  means  the 
best  remedy  for  poverty  of  the  soil.  Very  few  farmers 
handle  manure  so  as  to  get  even  as  much  as  half  the 
possible  value  from  it.  There  is  probably  no  greater 
waste  in  the  world  than  in  connection  with  the  handling 
of  manure  by  the  American  farmer.  Five-eighths  of  the 
plant  food  in  manure  is  found  in  the  liquid  part  of  it. 
This  is  usually  all  lost.  Not  only  is  this  the  case,  but  the 
solids  are  piled  beside  the  barn,  frequently  under  the 
eaves,  where  rains  wash  away  much  of  their  value.  Fer- 
mentation in  these  manure  piles  also  sets  free  much  of 
the  nitrogen  to  escape  into  the  air. 

In  order  to  produce  a  ton  of  dry  hay  on  an  acre  of 
land  it  is  necessary  that  the  growing  grass  pump  up  from 
that  acre  approximately  500  tons  of  water.  In  order  to 
supply  this  enormous  quantity  of  water,  the  soil  must  not 
only  be  in  condition  to  absorb  and  hold  water  well,  but 
it  must  be  porous  enough  to  permit  water  to  flow  freely 
from  soil  grain  to  soil  grain.  The  presence  of  large 
quantities  of  decaying  organic  matter  (humus)  adds 
enormously  to  the  water-holding  capacity  of  the  soil.  One 
ton  of  humus  will  absorb  2  tons  of  water  and  give  it  up 
readily  to  growing  crops.  Not  only  that,  but  the  shrink- 
ing of  the  particles  of  decaying  organic  matter  and  the 
consequent  loosening  of  soil  grains  keep  the  soil  open  and 
porous. 

Furthermore,  humus  of  good  quality  is  exceedingly 


100  GROWING  LEGUMES  FOR  SOIL  BETTERMENT 

rich  in  both  nitrogen  and  mineral  plant  food.  The  main- 
tenance of  fertility  may  almost  be  said  to  consist  in  keep- 
ing the  soil  well  supplied  with  humus. 

The  cultivation  of  leguminous  crops  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  economical  means  of  maintaining  a  supply 
of  nitrogenous  plant  food  in  the  soil.  Nitrates  may,  of 
course,  be  supplied  in  commercial  fertilizers ;  but  fer- 
tilizers containing  nitrogen  are  very  expensive,  and  it 
usually  pays  better  to  supply  nitrogen  by  growing 
legumes  or  by  the  application  of  stable  manure,  which  is 
rich  in  nitrogen  when  properly  handled.  In  good  farm 
practice  both  stable  manure  and  leguminous  crops  are 
used  as  sources  of  nitrogen. 

Improper  methods  of  tillage  add  very  greatly  to  the 
evil  effects  that  result  from  lack  of  humus.  In  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  land  is  plowed  only  3  or  4  inches 
deep.  Below  the  plowed  stratum  the  soil  becomes  sour, 
densely  packed,  and  unfit  for  plant  roots.  When  such 
soils  are  plowed  deep  and  this  sour  packed  subsoil  is 
mixed  with  the  upper  portion,  the  growth  of  many  crops 
is  greatly  retarded.  This  has  led  many  farmers  to  be- 
lieve that  deep  plowing  is  ruinous.  Some  farmers  have 
tried  to  remedy  the  difficulty  by  subsoiling.  The  subsoil 
plow  breaks  up  the  packed  layer  but  does  not  throw  it 
out  on  top.  But  while  subsoiling  does  break  up  the  hard 
layer  into  chunks  it  does  not  pulverize  it  or  put  humus 
into  it.  In  most  cases  work  done  in  subsoiling  is  prac- 
tically wasted,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  ever  pays.  A  much 
better  method  is  to  plow  a  little  deeper  each  year  until  a 
depth  of  8  or  10  inches  is  reached.  This  gives  a  deep 
layer  of  good  soil,  particularly  if  the  supply  of  humus  is 
kept  up. 

When  new  soil,  or  that  which  has  lain  undisturbed  for 
several  years,  is  broken  up,  it  is  always  best  to  plow  deep 
from  the  beginning,  for  the  deeper  layers  will  be  about 
as  fertile  as  any,  except  the  top  inch  or  two.    It  is  wise, 


GROWING  LEGUMES  FOR  SOIL  BETTERMENT  101 

too,  never  to  plow  the  same  depth  twice  in  succession. 
In  general,  fall  plowing  should  be  from  7  to  9  or  10 
inches  and  spring  plowing  from  5  to  7  inches  deep.  There 
are  special  cases  in  which  these  rules  do  not  apply,  but 
their  discussion  would  take  us  too  far  from  the  purpose 
of  this  chapter. 

We  plow  the  soil  in  order  to  loosen  up  its  texture  and 
get  air  into  it ;  also  to  turn  under  stubble,  manure,  etc.,  to 
make  humus.  Killing  weeds  is  another  object  ac- 
complished by  plowing.  After  a  soil  has  been  thoroughly 
pulverized  to  great  depths,  so  that  there  is  no  danger  of 
turning  up  packed  clay,  the  deeper  the  plowing  the  better 
the  crops.  But  the  cost  also  increases  with  depth,  so  that 
ordinarily  it  does  not  pay  to  plow  more  than  about  10 
inches  deep. 

Some  crops  prefer  rather  a  loose  seed  bed.  Millet  is 
such  a  crop.  Farmers  sometimes  plow  a  second  time  in 
order  to  sow  millet  on  freshly  plowed  land.  Other  crops, 
such  as  wheat  and  alfalfa,  prefer  a  fairly  compact  seed 
bed ;  hence,  frequent  harrowing  and  rolling  after  plowing 
is  good  practice  before  seeding  to  these  crops.  Never- 
theless, it  pays  to  plow  the  land  for  them,  even  if  we  have 
to  compact  it  again  before  seeding.  The  plowing  aerates 
the  soil  and  helps  to  set  plant  food  free. 


Large  Profits  in  Potatoes 

All  progressive  farmers  who  can  bring  their  plans  into 
the  right  shape  are  going  ahead  with  potatoes.  Prices 
continue  on  a  high  level  and  the  market  demand  is  so 
keen  that  foreign  producers  are  making  large  shipments 
to  this  country.  If  American  farmers  are  wise  they  will 
control  this  market  and  reap  the  big  profits  which  are  to 
be  gained  from  potato  culture. 

The  fact  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  proper  kind 
of  cultivation  will  give  a  yield  of  about  200  bushels  per 
acre,  whereas  the  average  in  this  country  is  under  100 
bushels.  The  yield  in  parts  of  Maine  as  well  as  in  the 
northwest  often  runs  upwards  of  200  bushels,  while  in 
Germany  it  is  close  to  200.  England  and  Ireland  fall  a 
little  behind  Germany. 

For  nearly  two  years  now  the  price  per  bushel  to 
American  farmers  has  been  $1  to  $1.50,  where  they  have 
sold  to  private  customers,  and  75  cents  to  $1.25  when 
shipping  to  commission  men.  It  is  well  to  compare  this 
price  and  yield  to  wheat  figures.  In  raising  the  grain 
farmers  are  in  great  luck  if  they  secure  twenty  bushels 
per  acre  and  receive  $1  a  bushel. 

Potatoes  do  not  require  the  richest  of  soils.  They  will 
thrive  in  a  sandy  loam.  Soggy  land  is  bad  for  the  crop 
and  if  any  such  has  to  be  used  it  ought  to  be  drained. 
Regular  moisture  in  light  quantities  on  any  ordinary 
farm  will  insure  a  good  crop  of  potatoes. 

An  irrigated  farm  has  advantages  over  any  other,  but 
where  the  rainfall  is  insufficient  a  dust  mulch  should  be 

102 


LARGE  PROFITS  IN  POTATOES       103 

kept  around  the  growing  crop  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
serving such  moisture  as  there  is.  It  is  unwise  to  let 
potato  ground  harden  and  bake  in  the  sun.  By  giving 
reasonable  attention  to  the  product  along  the  lines  indi- 
cated success  will  be  attained  in  almost  any  section  of  the 
United  States. 

Potatoes  do  well  in  rotation  with  clover,  millet,  corn, 
beets,  rutabagas,  cabbage,  etc.  It  is  feasible  to  dig  a  crop 
of  early  potatoes  in  June  or  July  and  then  immediately 
sow  millet,  rye  or  fodder  corn  on  the  same  ground.  It 
is  also  a  good  plan  to  plant  late  potatoes  on  land  from 
which  clover,  cowpeas,  rye  or  any  other  early  crop  has 
been  taken. 

There  are  sixteen  states  in  which  the  cultivation  of 
sugar  beets  is  already  well  established  in  this  country. 
Practically  all  of  these  states  are  large  producers  of 
potatoes.  More  significant  still  is  the  fact,  recently 
brought  out  by  an  exhaustive  inquiry,  that  the  use  of 
sugar  beets  in  rotation  with  potatoes,  corn,  wheat  and 
other  crops  increases  the  yield  of  every  one  of  these 
crops  from  25  to  50  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  potatoes  the 
increase  was  46.2  per  cent. 

Early  Rose,  Triumph,  Early  Michigan  and  Early  Ohio 
remain  standard  early  varieties,  while  some  of  the  best 
late  ones  are  Burbank,  Peerless,  Peachblow  and  Green 
Mountain.  There  are  many  variations  in  these  types,  but 
for  all  practical  purposes  the  potatoes  can  be  recom- 
mended as  named  above. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  on  guard  against  disease  and  insect 
pests.  A  healthy  growth  of  potatoes  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected on  soggy  land  or  where  spraying  is  neglected. 
Good  seed  is  of  the  highest  importance,  and  with  this 
point  settled  thorough  cultivation  will  insure  a  crop  five 
years  out  of  six. 

The  potato  scab  is  a  disease  that  remains  in  the  soil 
from  one  year  to  the  next  as  a  fungus  and  if  potatoes 


104  LARGE  PROFITS  IN  POTATOES 

are  grown  in  consecutive  years  on  the  same  soil  the 
disease  must  necessarily  increase. 

The  potato  bug  or  beetle  is  destroyed  with  paris  green 
at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to  the  acre  in  twenty-five  gal- 
lons of  water.  Arsenate  of  lead  applied  at  the  rate  of 
six  pounds  to  the  acre  in  fifty  gallons  of  water  will  prove 
equally  efficacious.  Scab  and  blight  are  controlled  by  the 
bordeaux  mixture,  which  is  best  applied  a  week  or  two 
after  the  bugs  have  been  disposed  of. 

Potatoes  are  so  hardy  that  they  are  raised  to  advan- 
tage in  the  most  northerly  states,  and  even  in  Siberia  and 
other  cold  countries.  Seed  produced  in  the  north  will 
show  good  results  in  southern  states,  but  this  is  a  rule 
that  will  not  work  both  ways.  Tubers  originating  in  a 
semi-tropical  climate  have  to  be  acclimated  in  the  north 
before  returning  satisfactory  crops. 

On  any  farm  in  the  country  some  parts  are  much  better 
adapted  to  potatoes  than  others.  Sandy  soil  is  not  a 
moisture-retaining  soil,  and  in  wet  weather  there  is  little 
danger  of  tubers  rotting  in  the  soil.  In  dry  seasons 
mulching  is  highly  beneficial,  as  it  tends  to  hold  and  con- 
serve the  little  moisture  available.  Seeds  grown  under 
mulch  and  those  grown  with  the  best  cultivation  have 
been  compared  and  the  former  found  to  produce  50  per 
cent  better  yields.  If  clover  is  raised  after  potatoes 
grown  with  a  mulch  a  surprisingly  good  stand  is  obtained. 

The  time  to  mulch  is  just  as  soon  as  the  first  crop  of 
weeds  has  been  destroyed  by  cultivation.  A  thick  layer 
of  leaves  or  straw  is  required.  This  will  save  the  soil 
from  surface  washing  and  will  keep  down  the  weeds.  It 
conserves  moisture  and  adds  humus. 

Plow  in  plenty  of  manure  in  the  fall.  When  the 
weather  becomes  favorable  in  the  spring  use  a  disk  un- 
less the  ground  happens  to  be  dry,  in  which  case  harrow- 
ing is  better,  as  it  will  tend  to  conserve  the  moisture. 
If  the  land  is  not  perfectly  level  the  rows  should  con- 


LARGE  PROFITS  IN  POTATOES       105 

form  to  the  slope,  so  that  in  case  of  heavy  rains  the  water 
will  run  off  without  washing  out  the  crop.  If  mulching 
is  thought  to  be  unnecessary  the  tract  must  be  cultivated 
two  or  three  times. 

The  studious  farmer  tills  the  soil  in  an  intelligent  man- 
ner, knowing  the  reason  for  and  the  effect  of  every  opera- 
tion. He  aims  to  get  water  into  the  soil  and  hold  it  there 
for  future  use.  Certainty  of  crops  depends  almost  abso- 
lutely on  proper  handling  of  the  soil.  Without  it  the 
soil  moisture  is  not  stored  in  proper  quantities  and  is 
allowed  to  escape,  and  drought  gets  the  crop  that  other- 
wise could  be  saved  and  made  profitable. 

A  study  of  the  potato  question  will  be  a  good  thing 
for  American  farmers,  especially  those  who  are  just  en- 
gaging in  agriculture.  The  whole  subject  of  supply  and 
demand,  of  production  and  selling,  is  opened  by  the 
existing  potato  problem. 

Here  are  a  couple  of  good  axioms  which  apply  to  the 
situation:  Never  trust  to  one  crop  for  success,  even 
when  prices  are  high;  do  not  devote  all  your  land  and 
effort  to  a  single  interest,  no  matter  what  the  rate  of 
profit  was  in  a  previous  season.  One  reason  is  that  you 
may  fail  to  produce  a  satisfactory  crop,  and  another  is 
that  thousands  rush  to  raise  a  product  for  which  there 
seems  to  be  an  unusual  demand.  This  breaks  the  market. 
It  would  be  easy  for  American  farmers  to  raise  so  many 
potatoes  that  they  could  not  get  fifty  cents  a  bushel  for 
them.  However,  when  the  market  gets  too  low  to  afford 
a  profit,  this  product  is  excellent  food,  when  boiled,  for 
poultry  and  hogs. 


Growing  Sweet  Potatoes  in  the  North 

While  the  sweet  potato  is  generally  regarded  as  a  south- 
ern crop,  it  is  grown  with  great  success  in  many  places 
in  the  north.  The  Island  of  Muscatine  in  the  Mississippi 
River  is  largely  given  up  to  sweet  potatoes  and  melons. 
The  former  do  well  in  any  light,  sandy  soil,  where  the 
season  is  not  too  short. 

Miss  Gertrude  Coburn,  teacher  of  domestic  science  in 
the  University  of  Iowa,  has  collected  some  valuable  data 
regarding  the  table  merit  of  the  different  kinds  of  sweet 
potatoes  grown  in  the  north.  Mr.  Theodore  Williams, 
of  Benson,  Neb.,  and  F.  D.  Wells,  a  Michigan  grower, 
have  been  successful  in  the  cultivation  of  the  potato ;  and 
the  results  of  the  work  of  these  investigators  are  briefly 
summarized  here. 

In  Miss  Coburn's  investigations  the  soil  on  which  the 
crop  was  grown  was  not  rich,  having  previously  grown 
nursery  stock.  It  was  not  manured,  but  thoroughly  pre- 
pared. Mr.  Wells  says  that  the  soil  best  suited  to  sweet 
potatoes  is  a  warm,  moderately  rich  sand.  If  it  is  too  rich 
there  will  be  excessive  growth  of  top  at  the  expense  of 
the  root.  Before  planting,  the  surface  of  the  ground 
should  be  ridged,  and  the  plants  set  in  the  usual  way 
about  the  first  week  in  June. 

The  most  common  way  to  grow  the  plants  is  in  a  hot- 
bed. After  the  first  heated  period  is  over,  the  tubers  are 
placed  quite  closely  together,  but  not  touching,  and 
covered  with  manure ;  they  are  then  covered  with  three 
inches  of  soil,  the  bed  covered  with  glass  and  watered  as 
often  as  necessary. 

106 


GROWING  SWEET  POTATOES  107 

The  buds  or  shoots  which  develop  should  be  trans- 
planted to  the  field  only  when  the  ground  is  quite  warm. 
Although  plants  are  generally  set  in  ridges,  some  grow- 
ers prefer  to  set  on  a  level.  The  ridge  system  is  probably 
most  desirable  in  the  north.  The  center  of  the  ridges 
should  be  about  3J/2  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  set  18 
inches  in  the  row.  Good  cultivation  is  necessary.  This 
should  be  frequent  and  shallow  to  save  moisture,  and  it 
will  also  add  to  the  yield. 

Southern  growers  have  changed  their  method  some- 
what, and  now  do  not  believe  it  is  necessary  to  move  the 
vines  to  prevent  rooting,  except  under  unusual  circum- 
stances. Northern  experiments  show  that  there  is  not 
so  much  difference  between  rows  in  which  the  vines  were 
undisturbed  and  those  in  which  the  vines  were  moved 

twice. 

Potash  is  one  of  the  most  important  fertilizers  for 
sweet  potatoes,  although  in  New  Jersey,  horse  manure  at 
the  rate  of  10  to  20  tons  per  acre  is  used.  It  should  be 
well  rotted.  Attention  to  the  vines,  says  Mr.  Wells, 
does  not  stop  with  the  end  of  cultivation.  They  should 
be  lifted  occasionally  to  prevent  their  taking  root,  and  this 
work  can  be  quickly  done  by  the  use  of  a  pitchfork.  Once 
a  week  is  often  enough. 

In  the  north  the  black-rot  affects  sweet  potatoes,  and 
this  is  soon  seen  on  the  sprouts.  Whenever  a  plant 
shows  a  leaf  that  is  black,  it  should  be  dug  up  and 
destroyed.  Potatoes  from  affected  plants  will  rot  quickly 
after  being  dug.  As  the  germs  of  the  disease  remain  in 
the  soil  over  winter,  the  ground  should  not  be  used  again 
for  this  crop. 


Money  Making  From  Pork 

Farmers  who  do  not  raise  a  lot  of  nice  pork  every  year 
are  not  living  up  to  their  opportunities  in  money  making. 
At  the  average  price  of  hogs  in  the  last  five  years  this 
product  pays  well. 

The  present  is  a  good  time  either  for  making  a  start  or 
enlarging  operations.  Even  a  very  small  farm  should 
have  a  few  pigs,  as  they  work  nicely  in  any  scheme  of 
diversification. 

The  sow's  rations  should  be  reduced  about  one-half 
shortly  before  farrowing,  and  it  should  consist  of  sloppy 
feed  that  will  tend  to  loosen  the  bowels.  An  abundant 
supply  of  water  should  be  before  her.  She  ought  to  be 
separated  from  other  animals  a  week  before  farrowing. 
In  extremely  cold  weather  the  young  pigs  are  likely  to 
become  chilled  and  may  die  if  they  do  not  receive  extra 
attention.  A  little  care  at  this  time  will  save  the  lives 
of  many  pigs  and  pay  excellent  returns  for  the  slight 
effort  involved.  A  few  bricks  should  be  heated,  wrapped 
in  a  sack  and  placed  in  a  basket.  Any  pigs  which  appear 
chilled  or  are  too  weak  to  nurse  should  be  placed  in  the 
basket.  An  hour  or  so  of  this  treatment  should  serve 
to  revive  the  young  porker  and  after  he  gets  to  nurse 
his  chances  of  reaching  maturity  are  increased  fourfold. 

If  sucking  pigs  are  seen  to  be  scouring,  give  the  sow 
fifteen  to  twenty  drops  of  laudanum  in  her  feed  for  a  few 
days.  If  her  feed  is  reduced  this  usually  checks  the 
scours.    If  there  is  no  laudanum  at  hand  use  powdered 

charcoal. 

As  soon  as  the  pigs  are  old  enough  to  eat  I  give  them  a 

108 


MONEY  MAKING  FROM  PORK  109 

separate  trough  where  they  can  eat  without  being  dis- 
turbed by  the  mother.  They  are  given  a  mixed  feed  of 
middlings,  corn  meal  or  other  ground  feed  softened  with 
water.  They  thrive  all  summer  on  forage  crops  and 
need  little  grain  until  a  month  before  marketing  time. 

Mineral  matter  such  as  phosphorus,  calcium,  sulphur 
and  iron  is  very  necessary  to  the  best  development  of  a 
pig.  It  is  needed  in  the  body  to  carry  gaseous  products, 
such  as  oxygen,  from  the  lungs  to  the  tissues  of  the 
body ;  to  maintain  acidity  in  the  blood  and  tissues ;  to  aid 
in  the  movement  of  liquids  through  the  body ;  to  aid  in 
the  digestion  of  proteids  and  fats ;  and  in  addition  to  sev- 
eral minor  functions  to  aid  in  the  formation  of  muscular 
and  bony  tissues.  A  pig  fed  on  ground  corn  and  water, 
and  provided  with  plenty  of  mineral  matter  will  gain 
twice  as  much  in  weight  as  one  fed  on  ground  corn  and 
water  alone. 

Rape,  artichokes,  red  clover  and  alfalfa  make  good 
forage  for  hogs.  Carrots  are  excellent  food  also,  either  in 
summer  or  winter.  It  is  not  best  to  let  hogs  have  the 
entire  run  of  a  large  pasture.  Confine  them  within 
movable  fences,  giving  them  access  to  a  part  of  the  field 
at  a  time.  Such  fences  are  not  expensive.  They  save 
much  waste  of  grass,  secure  a  large  growth  of  feed  from 
the  land  and  cause  the  hogs  to  make  rapid  gains. 

Vermin  are  a  pest  and  cause  heavy  losses.  Nothing 
holds  back  growing  pigs  more  than  lice.  It  is  necessary 
to  fight  them  as  long  as  one  remains  on  the  premises. 
Coal  tar  dips  are  a  great  help  in  keeping  hogs  healthy, 
and  where  a  sprayer  is  used  it  is  a  good  plan  to  spray  the 
litter  that  the  hogs  sleep  in,  and  kill  the  lice  there  also. 
Lime  is  a  help  if  sprinkled  over  the  litter.  Black  oil 
poured  over  the  pigs  will  kill  lice  effectively.  A  mixture 
of  lard  and  kerosene  when  rubbed  in,  answers  the  pur- 
pose.    Do  not  use  kerosene  alone,  as  it  blisters.     Good 


110  MONEY  MAKING  FROM  PORK 

insect  powders  can  be  bought,  but  they  are  hardly  neces- 
sary if  the  other  remedies  are  used. 

Hogs  require  attention  regardless  of  conditions,  age 
or  sex,  but  the  brood  sows  require  particular  attention, 
and  to  the  feeder's  skill  in  feeding  and  managing  his 
brood  sows,  provided  they  have  been  properly  selected, 
will  be  due  in  large  measure  his  success. 

Pasture  and  forage  crops  should  be  provided  for  the 
pregnant  sows,  because  of  the  cheapness  of  this  method 
of  feeding  and  the  desirability  of  keeping  the  sows  in 
good  form  by  exercise,  fresh  air  and  sunshine.  Along 
with  the  pasture  and  forage  crops  some  grain  should  be 
fed  especially  as  pregnancy  advances,  for  best  results, 
since  the  pasture  and  forage  crops  provide  only  about  a 
maintenance  ration.  The  forage  crops  that  are  especially 
suited  to  pregnant  brood  sows  are  the  clovers,  alfalfa, 
peas,  beans,  vetches,  rape,  etc.  The  ordinary  pasture 
grasses  also  provide  a  suitable  pasture  for  brood  sows. 

Keep  the  sow  in  fair  condition  but  not  excessively  fat. 
She  should  receive  a  nutritious  ration  at  all  times,  but 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  feed  a  too  concentrated 
ration  close  to  farrowing  time,  as  the  sow  is  likely  to 
become  constipated.  This  is  a  disorder  that  should  be 
carefully  avoided  during  pregnancy  and  especially  at  the 
time  of  farrowing.  To  overcome  this  disorder  the  greater 
part  of  the  grain  ration  should  be  given  in  the  form  of 
a  slop  all  during  pregnancy,  and  toward  the  close  of  the 
gestation  period  some  laxative  feed  such  as  bran,  oil  meal, 
roots,  or  a  small  amount  of  flaxseed  meal  should  be  intro- 
duced into  the  ration.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
digestive  tract  of  the  hog  is  small  and  that  a  very  bulky 
ration  cannot  be  used  to  best  advantage. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  main  demands  upon 
the  brood  sow  are  those  for  building  up  new  tissue,  and 
that  the  kind  of  feed  is  important.  To  build  up  new 
tissue  the  sow  must  have  protein  in  her  ration.     This 


MONEY  MAKING  FROM  PORK  HI 

may  be  supplied  by  feeding  any  one  of  a  number  of 
nitrogenous  feeds.  The  young  sow  requires  more  of  this 
kind  of  feed  in  her  ration  than  the  old  one  because  she 
is  still  growing  when  her  first  litter  is  born.  A  variety  in 
the  feeds  is  necessary  to  good  results  with  swine.  With 
brood  sows  it  is  particularly  true  that  several  feeds  com- 
bined give  better  results  than  any  single  one. 

For  a  few  days  previous  to  farrowing  the  feed  should 
be  limited  in  quantity  and  of  a  sloppy  nature,  and,  as  has 
been  previously  stated,  the  tendency  to  become  consti- 
pated at  this  time  must  be  overcome.  A  box  of  charcoal, 
salt  and  ashes  should  be  kept  where  the  sow  can  get  at  it 
at  all  times,  summer  or  winter.  These  materials  tend  to 
satisfy  the  hog's  craving  for  mineral  matter  and  act  as 
a  vermifuge  and  preventive  of  disease.  If  brood  sows 
are  given  free  access  to  the  above  mixture  and  are  fed 
a  varied  ration  which  contains  a  sufficient  amount  of 
protein,  the  breeder  will  not  be  likely  to  be  troubled  with 
sows  eating  their  pigs  at  farrowing  time. 

The  quantity  of  feed  for  several  days  after  farrow- 
ing should  be  small.  The  sow  should  not  be  offered  any 
feed  of  any  kind  until  she  gets  up  of  her  own  accord 
after  farrowing  and  for  the  first  day  or  two  a  thin  slop 
will  be  sufficient  to  quench  her  thirst  and  provide  all  the 
nutrition  required.  Within  a  week  or  ten  days  after 
farrowing  the  sow  should  be  getting  a  good  ration  of 
nutritious  milk  producing  food.  If  skim  milk  can  be  had 
at  this  time  and  fed  with  a  ration  of  equal  parts  corn 
meal  and  shorts,  good  results  should  be  obtained.  About 
three  weeks  after  farrowing  the  sow  should  be  getting 
a  full  ration  and  during  the  whole  remaining  period 
during  which  the  sow  is  giving  suck  to  her  pigs  she 
should  be  fed  heavily,  for  the  gain  thus  produced  in  the 
suckling  pigs  indirectly  is  made  at  a  low  cost  for  the 
feed  consumed.  Generally  a  sow  with  a  large  litter  will 
lose  in  weight  and  condition  even  when  given  the  best 


112  MONEY  MAKING  FROM  PORK 

of  care  and  feed.     These  essentials  should  receive  the 
greatest  of  attention  at  all  times. 

Farmers  need  to  learn  the  merits  of  rape,  carrots, 
Canada  peas  and  alfalfa  or  clover.  Hogs  can  be  brought 
along  nicely  for  the  first  six  months  without  much 
corn  if  they  can  have  a  nice  patch  of  forage  such  as 
alfalfa  or  rape.  Skimmed  milk  is  a  wholesome  and  cheap 
addition.  They  can  be  finished  on  peas  or  corn,  as  cir- 
cumstances dictate,  and  will  show  a  large  profit  at  8  to 
10  months.  Animals  fed  in  this  way  produce  extra  fine 
pork  and  it  is  possible  to  have  private  customers  who 
will  take  the  dressed  carcasses,  wholly  or  in  part,  at 
fancy  prices. 

While  hogs  grow  into  money  fast,  the  question  of 
economical  feeding  must  not  be  overlooked.  If  the  feeder 
does  what  he  should  for  his  hogs  on  grass  he  will  feed 
some  corn  or  other  grain  along  each  day  to  furnish  the 
pig  more  nutrients  than  he  can  secure  in  his  grass  diet 
and  also  to  help  concentrate  his  ration. 

If  this  is  kept  up  to  the  time  in  the  pig's  life  when 
he  is  6,  7  or  8  months  of  age  he  is  then  a  large  pig, 
growthy  and  strong,  but  not  in  any  condition  to  market. 
He  has  built  up  his  frame  and  muscle  work  large  enough 
so  that  by  feeding  six  weeks  or  two  months  longer  he 
can  be  finished  off  on  corn  into  the  prime  pork  the  market 
pays  the  long  price  for. 

This  last  period  is  called  the  finishing  or  fattening 
period,  but  this  does  not  mean  that  the  pig,  which  has 
been  allowed  to  roam  over  a  grass  pasture  (or,  better 
still,  a  clover  pasture)  and  been  fed  perhaps  a  pound  or 
two  pounds  of  corn  or  other  grain  in  the  evening  just  to 
keep  him  growing  fine,  should  be  kept  in  an  8xio  foot  pen 
and  stuffed  on  corn.  He  will  not  do  best  under  these 
conditions.  He  wants  some  good  clean  soil  to  eat  every 
day  as  he  had  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  wants  a  fifty- 
yard  straightaway  where  he  can  scamper  and  shake  up 


MONEY  MAKING  FROM  PORK  113 

his  intestines,  which  are  as  full  as  a  city  boy  at  grand- 
mother's on  Thanksgiving  day. 

Now  corn  alone  and  a  place  to  scamper  in  will  not  be 
all  that  is  necessary  for  finishing  these  hogs.  They  are 
still  to  grow  some,  their  growth  requires  protein  mate- 
rial, and  this  protein  material  must  be  in  excess  of  that 
found  in  the  corn.  Nothing  could  be  better  than  the 
clover  field  or  the  alfalfa  field,  but  when  these  are  frosted 
or  covered  with  snow,  the  Canadian  field  peas  can  be  used 
that  should  have  been  thrashed  out  some  weeks  before. 
These  should  be  ground  for  best  results  and  fed  in  slop. 

If  this  slop  could  be  made  of  the  fresh  separated  milk, 
so  much  the  better.  The  ration  of  corn,  should  you  have 
it  ground,  and  the  field  peas,  which  ought  to  be  ground, 
is  very  well  mixed  and  makes  a  good  ration  when  about 
five  parts  of  corn  are  fed  with  one  part  of  pea  meal, 
mixed  in  a  fairly  thick  slop.  Should  the  feeder  not  have 
the  pea  meal  and  has  only  the  skim  milk,  it  is  well  to 
purchase  shorts  and  make  a  good  slop  of  the  shorts  and 
milk  and  feed  all  the  pigs  will  clean  up  without  leaving 
the  trough. 

Rape  is  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  crops  for  early 
hog  pasture  when  clover  is  not  available.  It  closely 
resembles  cabbage  in  appearance  and  manner  of  growth, 
except  that  it  does  not  produce  a  head.  It  has  large, 
coarse,  succulent  leaves,  and  ordinarily  grows  from  20 
to  30  inches  tall.  It  is  a  cool  weather  plant  and  can  be 
sown  early  in  the  spring — as  soon  as  there  is  no  further 
danger  of  severe  frost.  It  will  endure  a  pretty  severe 
frost  in  the  fall  without  injury  and  may  be  used  for 
pasture  late  in  the  fall,  provided  the  hogs  are  kept  off 
when  it  is  frozen. 


Making  a  Dairy  Farm  Pay 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  dairy  farming,  no 
matter  what  the  size  of  the  place  may  be.  It  is  an  excel- 
lent system  for  providing  a  monthly  cash  income,  and 
may  be  managed  so  as  to  yield  a  high  rate  of  profit,  par- 
ticularly if  there  are  good  transportation  facilities  or  the 
farm  is  located  near  a  large  town.  Soil  fertility  is  best 
maintained  on  a  place  that  has  considerable  live  stock. 

A  dairy  is  a  good  basis  for  operations  in  a  case  where 
a  city  family  takes  land,  for  it  affords  an  immediate 
income  with  which  to  meet  the  expense  of  hired  help  and 
the  cost  of  getting  started.  On  any  place  beyond  the 
dimensions  of  a  garden  or  orchard  it  is  best  to  start  with 
an  experienced  man.  Possibly  after  one  season  the  family 
may  manage  the  work. 

Fifteen  to  twenty  cows  are  not  too  many  for  fifty 
acres.  Ten  cows  may  be  kept  on  thirty  to  forty  acres. 
The  modern  plan  is  to  restrict  the  pasture  to  a  few  acres 
and  feed  with  silage  or  soiling  crops.  Summer  feeding 
is  necessary  to  keep  up  a  regular  output  of  milk,  and  it 
is  best  to  begin  with  this  fact  settled,  so  time  and  effort 
will  not  be  wasted  in  experiments,  nor  an  undue  amount 
of  land  given  up  to  pasturage. 

A  fact  in  favor  of  the  dairy  is  that  the  owner  can  esti- 
mate both  income  and  expense  with  reasonable  certainty. 
Prices  on  milk  and  butter  change  little,  especially  where 
there  are  private  customers.  Any  one  who  has  a  suitable 
location  can  command  top-notch  prices  for  dairy  prod- 
ucts which  are  handled  with  taste  and  skill.  The  demand 
is  continual,  is  never  exceeded  by  supply,  and  high  prices 

114 


MAKING  A  DAIRY  FARM  PAY  115 

are  willingly  paid  for  choice  goods  by  a  large  class  of 
customers  who  place  quality  above  cost. 

To  get  the  advantages  of  dealing  with  this  class  of 
trade,  one  should  be  located  convenient  to  transportation. 
After  securing  a  good  equipment,  and  learning  how  to 
produce  and  sell,  it  will  be  easy  to  find  private  customers 
who  will  pay  25  to  50  per  cent  more  than  market  quota- 
tions for  products  that  they  know  to  be  right.  If  located 
near  a  provincial  city,  the  marketing  may  be  done  by 
team. 

Good  marketing  means  the  difference  between  success 
and  failure.  In  Europe,  by  means  of  co-operative  asso- 
ciations, the  middleman  is  cut  out  and  the  farmer  and 
consumer  get  together.  There  is  no  reason  why  that  plan 
may  not  succeed  in  this  country. 

Selection  is  more  important  than  breed  in  starting  a 
dairy.  See  that  the  cows  come  up  to  requirements  in 
milk  production,  and  are  healthy.  Then  guard  against 
dirt  and  disease,  and  feed  systematically.  Alfalfa,  alsike, 
millet,  shredded  cornstalks,  ground  oats  or  corn,  beets, 
bran  and  shorts  are  the  best  articles  of  fodder.  Corn 
silage  is  excellent,  winter  or  summer,  and  oilcake  may  be 
needed  for  its  digestive  qualities  when  stock  is  not  on 
grass. 

No  dairy  is  on  the  right  basis  if  not  earning  at  the  rate 
of  $100  a  year  for  each  animal.  Considerably  more  than 
this  will  be  earned  if  good  selling  connections  are  estab- 
lished. I  have  personal  knowledge  of  a  ten-cow  dairy 
that  has  advanced  steadily  from  $60  to  $125  a  month. 

Observant  farmers  know  that  while  the  income  from 
milk  is  large,  it  does  not  represent  the  entire  value  of  a 
dairy.  Hogs  fed  with  skimmed  milk  and  corn  gain 
faster  than  if  fed  with  corn  alone,  and  skimmed  milk  is 
also  an  aid  in  poultry  raising.  Thus  the  dairy  stimulates 
two  other  important  branches  of  farming,  and  many  a 
worn-out  and  almost  worthless  farm  has  been  restored  to 


116  MAKING  A  DAIRY  FARM  PAY 

a  highly  profitable  state  by  the  fertilizer  returned  by  the 
cattle. 

The  selection  of  feeds  is  of  prime  importance  in  the 
profitable  management  of  a  herd  of  dairy  cows,  and,  next 
to  the  selection  of  cows  of  the  proper  type  and  breeding, 
is  the  factor  of  greatest  importance  in  profitable  dairying. 
Feed  cows  daily  one  pound  of  grain  for  every  three 
pounds  of  milk  produced ;  from  25  to  40  pounds  of  corn 
silage,  and  what  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  they  will  eat. 

Do  not  turn  cows  out  to  remain  and  suffer  in  cold, 
stormy  weather.  Allow  them  to  have  water  which  is  not 
colder  than  that  from  a  deep  well  twice  or  three  times 
daily.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  heat  their  drinking  water  in 
the  tanks  or  troughs.  Brush  cows  daily  if  you  can  pos- 
sibly find  the  time,  for  it  pays  better  than  does  grooming 
of  horses.  Keep  cows  in  clean,  well  lighted,  properly 
ventilated  stables. 

Do  not  try  to  save  feed  by  turning  to  pasture  too  early. 
Provide  plenty  of  pure,  fresh  water,  shade  and  protection 
against  flies  during  the  heat  of  summer.  Supplement 
poor  pastures  with  corn  silage  or  green  soiling  crops  like 
rye,  peas  and  oats,  green  corn  fodder,  cabbage  and  other 
available  feed. 

Treat  cows  gently  and  avoid  excitement.  Be  regular 
in  time  of  feeding  and  milking.  Weigh  the  milk  of  each 
cow  at  milking  time. 

Get  your  neighbors  to  share  with  you  in  owning  a  Bab- 
cock  milk  tester,  and  test  the  milk  of  each  individual 
cow.  Discard  the  cow  which  has  failed  at  the  end  of 
the  year  to  pay  market  price  for  all  the  feed  she  has 
consumed. 

Breed  your  cows  to  a  pure-bred  registered  dairy  bull, 
and  raise  well  the  heifer  calves  from  the  best  cows. 
Breed  heifers  to  drop  their  first  calves  at  24  to  30  months 
of  age.  Give  cows  six  to  eight  weeks'  rest  between  lacta- 
tion periods. 


Forage  Problem  Demands  Attention 

Farmers  who  are  after  the  dollars  should  settle  the  ques- 
tion of  summer  forage  at  once  and  for  good.  With  the 
increased  value  of  land,  larger  pastures  cannot  be  main- 
tained without  loss.  Frequent  droughts  also  help  to  make 
them  unprofitable. 

It  has  come  to  a  point  where  owners  of  dairies,  beef 
cattle,  horses,  or  any  kind  of  live  stock,  frequently  lose  as 
much  money  as  a  result  of  light  pastures  during  three 
months  of  dry  summer  weather  as  they  can  make  in  the 
rest  of  the  year.  A  total  abandonment  of  pasturage 
is  not  recommended,  but  the  grazing  fields  should  be 
improved  and  silage  and  soiling  crops  made  an  auxiliary 
for  summer  feeding. 

One  reason  why  so  many  pastures  become  short  or  fail 
altogether  in  summer  is  that  they  do  not  contain  enough 
variety  of  grasses  for  forage  plants.  The  ordinary  pas- 
ture is  a  timothy  meadow  which  has  been  run  as  a 
meadow  for  several  years.  This  one  grass  plant  is  soon 
killed  out,  and  nothing  remains  but  chance  grasses  and 
weeds,  all  of  doubtful  forage  value. 

For  a  pasture  to  be  good  all  through  the  season,  it 
must  contain  a  variety  of  grasses  and  good  forage  plants. 
Some  of  these  will  come  in  early  in  the  spring,  then 
become  dormant,  to  again  revive  and  grow  for  fall  and 
early  winter  use.  While  these  early  grasses  are  dormant 
in  midsummer,  other  grasses  will  be  at  their  best. 

The  following  makes  a  good  mixture  on  ordinary  soils : 
Orchard  grass,  redtop,  timothy,  English  and  Italian  rye 
grass,  red  clover  and  alsike. 

It  is  important  to  seed  or  reseed  the  pasture  every 

117 


118  FORAGE  PROBLEM 

second  year,  and  this  may  be  done  at  almost  any  time, 
preferably  in  late  summer,  so  that  the  young  plants  will 
have  cool  weather  for  starting  growth.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  harrow  the  pasture  once  each  year  to  break  up  large 
manure  masses  and  to  scratch  the  surface  soil. 

By  all  means,  have  two  or  more  pastures,  so  that  they 
can  be  used  in  rotation,  allowing  one  to  rest  and  renew 
growth  while  the  other  is  in  use.  Continuous  eating  and 
tramping  will  kill  out  any  pasture.  Give  each  pasture  two 
or  three  periods  of  rest  during  the  growing  season,  and 
where  the  area  is  limited,  grow  soiling  plants  for  green 
feeding  when  the  pasture  is  short  and  needs  rest. 

Whether  for  keeping  up  the  milk  supply  or  pushing 
the  growth  of  meat  animals,  it  pays  to  raise  cowpeas  and 
oats  together,  cutting  them  for  use  as  a  green  fodder 
before  the  oats  have  ripened.  Other  crops  having  special 
value  are  millet,  vetch  and  rape.  The  latter  is  particu- 
larly good  for  hogs  and  sheep.  A  patch  of  artichokes  will 
also  bring  these  animals  along  nicely. 

Live  stock  is  good  property.  Every  farm  should  raise 
and  mature  for  the  market  all  that  it  can  safely  handle 
and  maintain  in  thrifty  condition.  Cows,  sheep  and  hogs 
are  of  special  advantage  on  the  small  farm.  The  market 
value  of  good  breeding  animals  may  be  made  two  or 
three  times  that  of  common,  ordinary  grade.  All  kinds 
of  farm  stock  is  in  good  demand.  High  prices  prevail 
and  an  oversupply  can  not  be  anticipated  for  years  to 
come.  The  average  farmer  should  keep  a  variety  of  ani- 
mals so  as  to  have  something  for  the  market  all  through 
the  year.  The  dairy  and  poultry  features  should  be 
pushed  to  the  limit. 

The  Siberian  alfalfas  are  found  growing  in  abundance 
in  dry  regions,  where  the  mercury  freezes  in  the  ther- 
mometer, often  with  no  snow  on  the  ground.  The  sum- 
mers are  so  dry  and  hot  that  camels  find  a  congenial 
home.    If  we  could  clothe  our  hillsides  and  plains  with 


FORAGE  PROBLEM  119 

these  wild  Siberian  alfalfas,  we  would  increase  their  pres- 
ent feeding  capacity  for  stock  from  four  to  eight  times. 

Seeds  and  plants  for  these  hardy  varieties  are  obtain- 
able in  a  limited  way,  and  if  they  prove  as  vigorous  here 
as  they  are  in  their  native  home  under  trying  conditions, 
they  will  soon  become  a  leading  feature  of  our  flora,  and 
add  immensely  to  our  agricultural  wealth.  The  trans- 
planting of  alfalfa  plants,  although  new  to  us,  is  some- 
thing that  has  been  practiced  for  centuries  in  parts  of 
India  and  South  America. 

The  modern  idea  of  a  hardy  alfalfa  is  one  that  will  take 
its  place  as  a  wild  plant  and  hold  its  own  with  buffalo 
grass  and  other  wild  grasses ;  one  that  will  cover  our 
steep  bluffs  and  hillsides,  now  barren ;  one  that  will 
flourish  in  our  gumbo  soils  in  western  localities ;  one  that 
will  make  our  rough  land  and  "sheep  quarters"  immensely 
more  valuable  than  at  present. 

Where  the  common  blue-flowered  alfalfa  does  not 
suffer  from  the  winter  at  any  time,  it  is  wise  to  "let  well 
enough  alone."  But  north  of  this  line  is  a  vast  region, 
stretching  clear  to  the  Arctic  circle,  where  these  Siberian 
alfalfas  will  reign  supreme  in  the  near  future,  and  they 
may  find  a  congenial  home  in  the  high  mountain  regions 
in  the  Rockies  far  to  the  south. 

Some  people  are  inclined  to  shut  their  eyes  and  ears 
to  the  fact  that  the  common  alfalfa  is  sometimes  winter- 
killed, and  blame  the  farmer  for  all  the  failures;  such 
people  like  to  tell  only  about  its  successes  and  to  dis- 
regard the  failures.  This  is  not  the  best  way.  The  other 
extreme  would  be  to  wait  until  the  seed  of  perfectly  hardy 
plants  is  obtained  in  commercial  quantities. 

Either  view  is  extreme  and  unwise.  We  would  plant 
the  best  seed  obtainable,  taking  care  that  it  is  as  free  as 
possible  from  weed  seed.  Turkestan  alfalfa,  which  was 
brought  over  for  the  first  time  in  1898,  has  made  good 
over  a  wide  area. 


120  FORAGE  PROBLEM 

Alfalfa  is  so  valuable  that  even  one  good  crop  is  a 
paying  investment.  But  we  must  not  place  all  our  hopes 
upon  it  as  absolutely  safe,  since  even  our  most  enthu- 
siastic growers  admit  that  the  plant  winter-kills  on  cer- 
tain soils  and  under  certain  conditions.  Some  think  that 
a  perfectly  hardy  alfalfa  is  not  to  be  expected.  But  why 
not  ?    Does  buffalo  grass  ever  winter-kill  ? 

American  experimenters  have  brought  alfalfa  from 
Sweden  and  Russia  and  are  greatly  pleased  with  the 
extremely  vigorous,  upright  habits  of  growth,  quick  re- 
covery after  cutting,  many  stems  and  large  leaves,  the 
abundant  seed  production,  and  the  fact  that  the  seeds  are 
tightly  retained  in  the  pods  instead  of  shelling  prema- 
turely. The  flowers  vary  greatly  in  color  from  blue  to 
yellow,  ranging  into  green,  dark  violet  and  purple. 

This  hybrid  condition  of  the  plants  should  be  main- 
tained in  order  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  forage  per 
acre.  From  many  successful  experiments  has  come  the 
belief  that  the  complete  solution  of  the  hardy  alfalfa 
question  is  in  sight. 

No  movement  for  the  betterment  of  agriculture  is  more 
general  or  extensive  than  that  to  provide  silage  for  cattle. 
The  system  has  been  slow  in  gaining  a  hold,  but  it  is 
coming  with  a  rush  now.  For  a  time  some  of  the  large 
milk  dealers  objected  to  silage  as  feed,  but  this  opposition 
was  not  justified,  and  has  been  withdrawn. 

Beef  cattle  are  brought  along  faster  and  better  with 
silage  for  fodder  than  by  any  other  method.  Of  course, 
in  all  cases  a  light  percentage  of  dry  feed  or  roughage  is 

needed. 

The  silo  has  its  use  on  a  farm  of  any  size.^  It  brings 
system  and  certainty  into  the  farmer's  affairs,  and  is 
profitable  from  any  point  of  view.  A  field  of  corn  goes 
about  twice  as  far  in  silage  as  in  the  old  method  of 

feeding. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  silage  which  is  several 


FORAGE  PROBLEM  121 

months  old  is  better  than  newer  feed.  Some  feeders  pre- 
fer silage  that  is  six  months  to  a  year  old.  Silage  is 
strong  in  carbohydrates,  the  principal  food  requirement 
for  all  animals,  but  needs  protein  to  balance  it.  Alfalfa 
hay  is  perhaps  the  cheapest  and  best  for  this  purpose. 
Throughout  the  dairy  sections  it  should  form  a  part  of 
the  ration  where  silage  is  used.  This  makes  it  possible 
for  the  feeder  to  gain  a  greater  economy  in  his  opera- 
tions, and  at  the  same  time  give  the  animal  a  wholesome, 
balanced  ration. 

Corn  silage  may  be  fed  out  of  doors,  in  bunks,  in  the 
stall,  or  in  any  place  where  animals  can  eat  it  without 
waste.  In  severe  weather  it  is  best  to  feed  silage  inside, 
as  some  will  freeze,  and  this  will  be  hard  for  the  stock  to 
masticate,  although  the  feeder  need  not  be  alarmed  over 
feeding  freezing  ensilage.  It  will  not  injure  the  animals, 
but  frozen  food  is  not  easy  for  them  to  consume. 

In  feeding  milch  cows,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  give  the  hay 
in  a  rack  outside,  where  the  animals  will  not  waste  it,  and 
feed  the  ensilage  in  the  barn  after  milking.  It  may  be 
given  twice  a  day  in  rations  from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds 
at  a  feeding,  or  twenty  to  forty  pounds  per  day.  Some 
large  animals  will  take  as  high  as  fifty  pounds  of  silage 
per  day  and  make  good  use  of  it.  Feed  the  ensilage  so 
that  the  animals  will  eat  it  up  clean,  as  it  spoils  when 
exposed  to  the  air  for  several  days. 

In  some  of  the  most  carefully  managed  experiments 
ever  made,  silage  has  surpassed  the  usual  grain  feeding 
in  bringing  on  beef  cattle.  The  ease  and  rapidity  with 
which  gains  are  made,  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  feed 
when  given  to  young  animals,  the  larger  number  that  can 
be  handled,  and  the  splendid  quality  of  the  finished  prod- 
uct, are  points  which  strongly  appeal  to  feeders  in  favor 
of  silage  for  making  beef. 

Even  when  it  comes  to  the  finishing  process  in  the  last 
month  of  feeding,  it  is  found  that  silage  is  suitable  for 


122  FORAGE  PROBLEM 

the  morning  and  evening  rations,  while  dry  corn  may  be 
used  at  noon.  The  stock  will  require  a  certain  amount  of 
hay,  and  should  have  access  to  this  as  desired.  Nothing 
else  is  needed  except  the  usual  allowance  of  cottonseed  or 
linseed  meal. 

Sand  vetch  is  also  known  as  hairy  vetch.  The  plant 
produces  many  slender  branches,  6  feet  long,  and  the 
leaves  and  branches  are  covered  with  a  coat  of  fine  hairs. 
The  seeds  are  small  and  black.  If  the  field  is  not  pas- 
tured too  closely,  the  seed  pods  burst  open  when  ripe  and 
reseed  the  field. 

Spring  seed  should  be  sown  the  last  of  April  to  the 
middle  of  May.  If  grown  for  forage,  it  is  well  to  seed 
vetch  with  oats  and  wheat.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
the  grain  keeps  the  vetch  off  the  ground.  If  the  seed  is 
drilled,  sow  one  bushel  per  acre.  If  broadcasted,  iy2 
bushels  per  acre.  Seed  also  one  bushel  of  oats  as  a  nurse 
crop. 

The  name  implies  that  it  is  best  grown  on  a  sandy  loam 
soil;  however,  it  grows  well  on  poor  soils — and  so  do 
cowpeas  or  clover.  All  stock  relish  the  green  forage  and 
cured  hay.  Experiments  show  that  it  yields  between  two 
and  three  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

Soy  beans  make  a  rich  late  summer  pasturage,  a  good 
soiling  crop,  a  splendid  ensilage  crop,  and  a  cured  hay 
equal  in  palatability  and  feeding  value  to  alfalfa  hay. 
They  yield  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  of  seed  per  acre,  worth 
$2  to  $3  per  bushel,  and  can  be  ground  into  meal  that  will 
take  the  place  of  cottonseed  meal,  oil  meal,  tankage, 
gluten  or  other  high-class  concentrates,  at  much   less  cost. 

Owing  to  their  rapid  growth,  soy  beans  are  an  admi- 
rable catch  crop  to  follow  wheat,  oats,  crimson  clover, 
potatoes  or  other  early  crops.  They  greatly  improve  the 
condition  of  the  soil  upon  which  they  grow  and  enrich  its 
store  of  nitrogen  and  humus. 

As  compared  with  the  valuable  and  widely  popular 


FORAGE  PROBLEM  123 

cowpeas,  soy  beans  have  a  wider  range  of  usefulness, 
are  more  easily  cured  for  hay,  much  more  easily  har- 
vested and  thrashed  for  seed,  yield  more  seed,  ripen  more 
evenly,  are  more  nutritious,  command  a  better  price,  are 
less  sensitive  to  frost,  lose  less  in  handling  of  the  hay, 
crack  less  in  thrashing,  are  less  likely  to  be  attacked  by 
weevil,  and  the  roots  and  stubble  leave  more  nitrogen 
and  humus  in  the  soil.  Cowpeas  have  the  one  superior 
virtue  of  making  a  heavier  yield  on  a  poor,  sandy  soil. 

As  a  main  crop,  sow  soy  beans  ten  days  after  corn 
planting  time,  as  a  catch  crop,  as  soon  as  the  prior  crop 
is  off  the  land.  If  drilled  in  rows  to  be  cultivated,  one- 
third  of  a  bushel  will  seed  an  acre;  if  drilled  solid,  like 
wheat,  use  six  pecks. 

For  hay,  cut  when  the  pods  are  fully  formed ;  for  seed, 
cut  when  the  plants  begin  to  turn  yellow,  cure  as  for  hay, 
and  thrash.  The  thrashed  forage  will  be  eaten  greedily 
by  horses  and  cattle  and  they  will  thrive  on  it.  At 
present  prices  soy  beans  are  one  of  the  most  profitable 
crops  that  can  be  grown,  and  they  fit  admirably  into 
almost  any  good  system  of  crop  rotation. 

A  still  newer  crop  of  great  value  to  live  stock  owners 
is  called  guar.  If  this  fodder  crop  proves  to  be  all  that 
is  claimed  for  it,  some  of  the  others  will  be  relegated  to 
the  background.  Guar  is  described  as  an  erect  annual 
reaching  a  height  of  three  to  four  feet  in  an  arid  country 
and  five  to  seven  feet  in  the  rain  belt.  As  a  land  im- 
prover it  ranks  with  the  cowpea,  and  as  a  forage  plant  it 
is  said  to  equal  alfalfa.  Just  imagine  the  amount  of 
forage  in  a  crop  of  alfalfa  six  feet  high !  Guar  is  said 
to  produce  enormous  quantities  of  seed — twenty  to  thirty 
bushels  per  acre,  even  in  a  dry  country,  and  proportion- 
ately larger  yields  in  humid  countries.  In  the  cultiva- 
tion of  any  of  these  legumes  there  is  something  to  be 
made  in  producing  seed,  as  well  as  hay. 


Cows  Kept  at  a  Loss 

E.  V.  Ellington,  in  charge  of  dairy  production,  Idaho 
experiment  station,  discusses  herd  testing  and  the  dairy 
industry  in  that  state  as  follows : 

While  there  are  many  high  producing  cows  in  the 
Northwest,  the  average  production  of  cows  being  milked 
is  low.  Figures  from  the  last  census  show  that  there 
are  in  the  state  of  Idaho  approximately  80,000  cows  being 
milked  that  are  classed  as  dairy  cattle. 

The  value  of  dairy  products  produced  in  the  state  of 
Idaho  is  only  $2,000,000.  These  figures  indicate  that 
many  cows  are  being  kept  at  an  actual  loss  to  the  farmer. 
Records  that  the  writer  has  kept  on  different  herds  over 
the  state  during  the  past  year  show  that  20  per  cent  of 
the  cows  were  not  paying  for  the  feed  they  consumed. 
For  every  dollar  expended  for  feedstuffs  some  animals 
were  only  giving  returns  of  75  and  80  cents. 

The  dairy  cow  may  be  compared  to  a  machine.  Raw 
material  is  furnished  her  in  the  form  of  alfalfa,  oats  and 
barley,  and  milk  is  the  finished  product.  Milk  production 
is  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents  and  if  the  machine  for 
the  manufacture  of  milk  cannot  be  operated  on  an 
economical  basis  then  it  should  be  disposed  of. 

There  is  only  one  means  whereby  the  profitable  cow 
may  be  detected  with  certainty  from  the  unprofitable  one, 
and  this  method  consists  in  weighing  and  testing  the 
milk  and  keeping  a  record  of  the  feed  consumed  for  the 
entire  lactation  period. 

Keeping  daily  records  of  milk  is  a  very  simple  and  inex- 
pensive task.    All  that  is  necessary  is  to  have  some  form 

124 


COWS  KEPT  AT  A  LOSS  125 

of  scales  and  a  ruled  sheet  whereby  the  milk  weights  may 
be  recorded  daily.  It  is  well  to  use  spring  balance  scales 
that  will  weigh  from  one-tenth  to  thirty  pounds. 

The  fat  test  should  be  made  at  least  once  a  month,  the 
testing  to  be  done  at  regular  intervals.  Samples  from 
both  morning  and  evening  milking  should  be  used.  For 
the  small  herd  a  four-bottle  Babcock  tester  is  of  sufficient 
size  and  may  be  secured  at  small  cost  from  any  creamery 
supply  company  and  includes  full  directions  for  conduct- 
ing the  test.  The  manipulation  of  the  fat  test  is  very 
simple,  but  the  directions  should  be  carefully  followed. 

Guesswork  is  expensive  to  the  dairyman.  No  person  is 
able  to  go  into  a  good  sized  herd  and  pick  out  all  the  best 
cows  by  examination.  The  highest  degree  of  success 
cannot  be  attained  unless  the  dairyman  knows  accurately 
the  record  of  each  cow.  Success  in  dairying  will  depend 
upon  the  farmer's  ability  to  lower  the  cost  of  producing 
a  pound  of  butter-fat. 

With  increased  cost  of  every  item  which  goes  into  the 
maintenance  of  a  dairy  herd,  from  wrapping  paper  to 
hay,  and  from  the  fencing  around  the  farm  to  the  labor 
required  in  every  operation,  has  come  the  absolute 
necessity  of  getting  every  part  of  the  dairy  on  a  paying 
basis  or  else  facing  a  deficit  either  in  money,  which  is 
likely,  or  in  depreciation  of  the  farm  land,  or  in  under- 
paid labor.  All  of  which  is  primary  and  fundamental 
experience  with  the  eastern  cow-man. 

For  this  fact  remains:  Well-tilled  land  will  produce 
crops  sufficient  to  pay  a  fair  return  on  labor  and  invest- 
ment even  if  sold  in  the  open  market.  The  feeding  of 
the  farm  crop  to  a  dairy  cow,  and  the  production  by  that 
cow  of  milk,  and  its  further  handling  on  the  farm  into 
butter  and  cheese — provided  always  that  the  cow  is  a  sat- 
isfactory dairy  animal — is  proven  to  be  the  most  profit- 
able way  of  disposing  of  products  of  the  farm,  under 
existing  conditions  of  demand  and  cost  of  transportation, 


126  COWS  KEPT  AT  A  LOSS 

and  at  the  same  time  returns  the  largest  possible  con- 
servation of  fertility  to  the  land  itself.  What,  then,  is  the 
answer? 

First,  the  cow  must  be  a  satisfactory  dairy  animal. 
Second,  the  manner  of  the  farm  management  must  be 
such  as  to  get  a  maximum  of  the  best  food  possible  out 
of  the  soil  to  use  as  raw  material  for  the  cow  machine 
to  produce  milk  from. 

Here  hinges  the  question  of  dairy  pre-eminence.  The 
state  whose  farmers  learn  best  to  produce  the  most  valu- 
able and  effective  feeding  materials  from  their  land,  and 
who  learn  how  to  build  their  dairies  up  with  the  best 
possible  dairy  cows,  will  lead  the  world  in  the  excellence, 
the  volume,  and  the  value  of  its  dairy  products.  Den- 
mark is  the  shining  example  of  the  entire  world,  and  in 
Denmark  the  key  to  the  result  is  the  cow-testing  asso- 
ciations. 

For  in  dairying,  as  in  fruit  culture,  the  ultimate  profit 
depends  upon  the  profit  of  each  individual,  cow,  or  tree, 
or  vine.  The  value  of  a  dairy  herd  is  measured  not  by  its 
best  member  in  her  best  month,  but  by  the  average  of  all 
its  members  for  twelve  months,  and  this  average  is  pulled 
down  by  its  poorest  member,  as  much  as  it  is  raised  by  its 
best,  and  there  is  no  way  known  to  know  just  what  each 
cow  is  doing  but  by  actual  test.  Without  fear  of  success- 
ful contradiction  it  can  be  asserted  that  the  dairy  expert 
does  not  exist  who  can  tell  the  best  cow  in  a  herd  except 
by  the  scales  and  the  Babcock  tester,  nor  the  value  of  a 
cow  without  an  experience  covering  months. 

This  is  a  plea  for  the  organization  of  cow-testing  asso- 
ciations based  upon  actual  experience  which  has  come 
under  the  observation  of  the  writer.  First  of  all,  why  an 
association — why  not  individual  testing?  The  only  rea- 
son is  because  the  average  individual  will  not  start  and 
continue  the  test,  and  it  must  be  thorough  and  complete 
to  mean  anything. 


Importance  of  Cow  Testing  Associations 

The  difference  in  dairy  profits  is  not  so  much  a  difference 
in  market  advantages  as  in  the  handling  and  manage- 
ment of  the  cows.  One  farmer  keeps  cows  that  turn 
out  a  quantity  of  milk  that  puts  the  gross  returns  well 
above  the  cost  of  keeping  the  cows,  while  the  other's 
milking  herd  is  giving  a  supply  the  value  of  which  is 
just  running  along  on  or  near  the  same  line  as  the  cost 
of  production.  In  the  one  herd  quite  frequently  are 
found  some  cows  that  are  turning  in  large  profits  and 
cows  that  are  barely  paying  for  their  keep.  The  average 
profit  from  such  a  herd  will  depend  entirely  on  the  pro- 
portion of  cows  in  each  class. 

The  University  of  Nebraska,  in  a  bulletin  issued  re- 
cently, shows  clearly  through  the  results  of  a  cow-testing 
association  in  a  county  of  Nebraska,  that  it  is  the  amount 
of  milk  produced  by  the  cow  that  determines  her  value 
and  the  value  of  dairying  as  a  business.  In  part,  this 
bulletin  reads : 

The  good  cow  judge  can  generally  tell  the  difference 
between  cows  of  high  and  low  productive  capacity,  but 
very  few  judges,  if  any,  can  always  tell  by  type  or  con- 
formation the  cow  producing  300  pounds  of  butter-fat 
from  the  one  producing  only  200  pounds.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  only  accurate  way  of  discovering  the  un- 
profitable cow  is  with  the  scale  and  Babcock  test.  The 
truthfulness  of  this  statement  has  been  brought  out  in 
many  instances.  The  former  owner  of  Jacoba  Irene, 
keeping  no  records  of  her  production,  considered  her 
only  an  ordinary  cow  and  sold  her  for  an  ordinary  price. 

127 


128  IMPORTA\TCE  OF  COW  TESTING 

Her  worth  was  only  determined  after  her  owner  took 
steps  to  have  her  tested.  These  figures  revealed  the  re- 
markable fact  that  in  less  than  a  year  she  produced  i,iii 
pounds  of  butter,  or  more  butter  than  is  being  produced 
by  seven  average  Nebraska  cows. 

Dairymen  need  a  variety  of  fodder  crops.  With  sum- 
mer drouths  always  possible,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a 
field  of  rye  and  clover  sown  in  the  fall.  This,  like  the 
first  cutting  of  alfalfa,  will  be  ready  quite  early.  For 
midsummer  emergencies  it  is  well  to  have  soy  beans,  cow- 
peas,  millet  or  alfalfa.  Cowpeas  and  oats  may  be  sown 
together  for  a  late  hay  crop. 

Just  west  of  Omaha,  in  Douglas  County,  is  located  a 
very  prosperous,  progressive  farming  community.  Here 
the  price  of  farm  land  is  already  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$200  per  acre.  In  this  locality  and  in  this  connection  it 
is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  farmer  who  years  ago  could 
not  be  forced  into  dairying,  has  now  turned  to  it  and  is 
getting  satisfactory  results.  These  farmers  fully  realize 
the  importance  of  keeping  accurate  records  of  the  amount 
of  milk  and  fat  produced  by  each  cow  in  the  herd.  They 
also  realized  that  through  a  co-operative  cow-testing  asso- 
ciation the  expense  of  obtaining  these  records  would  be 
very  materially  reduced  and  the  Douglas  County  Cow- 
Testing  Association  was  organized.  The  members  of 
this  association  entered  21  herds,  comprising  some  435 
cows.  The  work  of  the  tester  consisted  in  keeping  ac- 
curate records  of  the  amount  of  milk  and  butter-fat  pro- 
duced by  every  cow  in  the  various  herds  and  also  in  mak- 
ing careful  estimates  of  the  feed  consumed  by  these 
cows.  To  do  so  he  had  to  spend  one  day  each  month 
with  every  herd  belonging  to  the  association.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  work  this  man  was  ever  ready  with  sugges- 
tions as  to  how  the  rations  could  be  improved  for  eco- 
nomical milk  and  butter-fat  production. 

The  following  table  shows  the  difference  between  ten 


IMPORTANCE  OF  COW  TESTING 


129 


good  cows  and  ten  bad  ones.     An  accurate  account  of 
feed  and  milk  production  was  kept: 


Ten  most  profitable  cows. 

1    $123.58 

2     116.96 

3    Io8-74 

4    108.10 

5    IQ4.i5 


Ten  least  profitable  cows. 

1    (Loss) $1373 

1.62 


6 

7 
8 

9 

10 


96.66 

95-59 

94-97 
92.11 

92.02 


2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 


2.84 

3.85 
7.10 

9.09 

10.27 


8    11. 14 

9    12.07 

10    13-57 


Total    $1,032.88         Total $85.28 

From  this  table  the  reader  will  notice  that  a  herd  com- 
posed of  10  of  the  best  cows  would  yield  a  profit  of  over 
$1,032.  Compare  with  this  the  meagre  profit  of  only 
$85  that  would  come  to  the  dairyman  as  a  result  of  a 
year's  work  with  a  herd  composed  of  10  of  the  poorest 
cows,  and  there  is  at  least  one  evident  reason  why  the 
farmer  who  keeps  no  record  of  the  amount  of  milk  pro- 
duced and  who  thinks  it  of  no  importance  to  test  the  milk 
for   butter-fat   fails   to   make   dairying   profitable. 


Dairy  By-Products  Are  Important 

The  value  of  the  dairy  by-products  of  the  country  for 
one  year  amounts  to  more  than  fifty  million  dollars,  ac- 
cording to  an  estimate  made  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture; and  this  is  a  conservative  estimate.  The  item 
of  dairy  products  is  one  of  vast  importance,  and  is  well 
worthy  of  careful  attention  and  study. 

Skim-milk  is  by  far  the  most  important  by-product 
from  the  dairy,  and  the  best  adapted  to  varied  and  profit- 
able uses.  Skim-milk,  as  a  human  food,  is  unappreciated 
by  most  farmers;  but  it  has  been  tested  under  various 
conditions,  by  food  experts,  and  has  proven  a  useful 
portion  of  an  everyday  diet  for  many  people.  The  use 
of  skim-milk  ought  to  be  encouraged,  and  would  result 
in  finding  city  markets  for  a  large  amount  of  this  val- 
uable by-product. 

A  report  from  one  of  our  leading  colleges  contains  the 
following : 

"Skim-milk  has  all  the  protein  and  half  of  the  full 
value  of  the  whole  milk  and  is  in  most  localities  the  most 
economical  source  of  animal  protein.  The  food  elements 
in  skim-milk  are  equal  in  physiological  value  to  those  of 
meats  and  are  far  less  expensive." 

As  an  article  to  substitute  for  water,  in  the  preparation 
of  various  dishes,  as  well  as  for  others  that  are  made 
mainly  of  milk,  there  is  no  waste,  but  a  decided  gain  in 
food-value.  In  making  bread,  skim-milk  will  add  to  the 
weight  and  nutritive  value  of  the  loaf.  Used  in  place  of 
water,  sufficient  flour  may  be  saved  to  pay  for  the  milk, 
and  yet  produce  a  loaf  of  equal  weight,  and  of  more 
actual  food  value. 

130 


DAIRY  BY-PRODUCTS  ARE  IMPORTANT         131 

Milk  bread  is  richer  in  fatty  matter,  and  superior  in 
flesh  forming  elements,  which  is  scientifically  explained 
as  being  due  to  the  casein  of  milk  being  incorporated  with 
the  fibrin  of  the  flour. 

The  sale  of  skim-milk  to  bakers  and  confectioners 
should  be  encouraged,  and  is  capable  of  being  largely  in- 
creased. Used  in  this  manner,  it  may  be  made  to  net  the 
consumer  one  dollar  a  cwt.,  or  more  than  a  large  per 
cent  of  the  farmers  and  dairymen  realize  for  their  whole 
milk. 

As  a  food  for  domestic  animals  skim-milk  occupies 
the  most  conspicuous  position  of  any  food-stuff,  espe- 
cially as  a  feed  for  young  and  growing  animals.  The 
facts  which  seem  to  have  been  proven  by  the  various  ex- 
periments are  as  follows : 

"Skim-milk  gives  the  best  returns  when  fed  to  very 
young  animals,  constituting  the  larger  part  of  their 
rations. 

"It  is  next  best  for  animals  making  rapid  growth,  but 
which  need  other  feed  than  milk,  mainly  of  a  carbona- 
ceous nature. 

"Except  for  very  young  animals  skim-milk  gives  the 
best  returns  when  used  in  combination  with  other  foods 
generally  grains. 

"No  class  of  live  stock  will  give  larger  returns  for 
skim-milk  than  poultry  of  various  kinds." 

At  the  New  York  Experiment  Station  chickens  were 
grown  successfully  on  a  diet  composed  mainly  of  skim- 
milk,  although  they  were  allowed  a  run  of  the  fields  dur- 
ing the  time  when  they  were  being  fed  this  ration. 

It  was  estimated  that  at  the  test,  after  allowing  from 
25  cents  to  50  cents  per  hundred  for  the  skim-milk,  and 
some  other  feed  in  proportion,  the  cost  of  producing  one 
pound  of  live  weight  was  less  than  six  cents  at  the  time 
when  the  birds  weighed  three  pounds. 

During  this  time  the  milk  was  fed  sweet;  but  it  has 


132        DAIRY  BY-PRODUCTS  ARE  IMPORTANT 

been  found  equally  satisfactory  when  fed  thick  and  lop- 
pered,  and  the  waste  is  less  in  the  latter  form. 

If  a  premium  were  offered  for  the  most  rapid  gains  in 
pig  feeding,  my  opinion  would  be  that  some  man  skilled 
in  feeding  skim-milk  with  other  foods  would  carry  off 
the  prize.  Professor  Henry,  of  Wisconsin,  a  high  au- 
thority on  feeding  domestic  animals,  says  regarding  the 
value  of  skim-milk  as  a  food  for  swine: 

"Skim-milk  has  a  value  as  a  feed  for  stockmen  that 
is  higher  than  merely  serving  as  a  substitute  for  grain. 
All  of  the  constituents  of  milk  are  digestible  and  this 
valuable  by-product  of  the  creamery  is  rich  in  bone  and 
blood  building  constituents." 

When  we  consider  the  use  of  this  food  for  bone  and 
muscle  building,  and  also  remember  its  easy  digestibility, 
and  that  by  adding  a  variety  it  makes  other  food  articles 
more  palatable,  and  probably  assists  in  their  digestion, 
we  must  hold  skim-milk  as  occupying  a  high  place  in  the 
list  of  feedstuffs  available  on  most  farms. 

Authorities  seem  to  differ  as  to  the  merits  of  sweet 
and  sour  milk  as  a  feed  for  swine.  My  experience  con- 
vinces me  that  either  is  desirable ;  but  the  sudden  change 
from  sweet  to  sour,  and  from  sour  to  sweet,  must  be 
avoided  in  feeding  any  kind  of  domestic  animals. 

Calves  appear  to  be  the  next  in  favor,  as  profitable 
consumers  of  skim-milk,  and  some  feeders  appear  to 
think  that  they  can  feed  their  skim-milk  to  calves,  and 
derive  more  profits  from  it  than  by  feeding  it  to  swine ; 
but  this  depends,  to  a  large  extent,  upon  the  good  qualities 
of  the  animals  that  are  being  fed. 

In  feeding  skim-milk  to  calves  one  cent's  worth  of  oil- 
meal  will  take  the  place  of  a  pound  of  butter  fat  that 
has  been  removed  from  the  milk,  besides,  when  the  milk 
is  fed  warm  from  the  separator,  it  is  better  for  the  calves 
than  milk  that  is  cold  and  sour. 

A  young  animal  that  is  fed  on  skim-milk,  with  mill 


DAIRY  BY-PRODUCTS  ARE  IMPORTANT        133 

feed  or  grains,  may  be  made  to  weigh  almost  as  much  as 
one  of  similar  breeding  and  fed  on  whole  milk  with  the 
same  kind  of  grains,  at  one  year  of  age. 

Calves,  for  veal,  mav  be  started  on  whole  milk,  and 
then  gradually  changed  to  skim-milk,  and  fed  for  awhile, 
and  then  made  ready  for  market  by  feeding  for  a  week 
or  two  on  whole  milk  to  put  on  a  smooth  finish  and  im- 
prove their  sale. 

In  feeding  skim-milk  to  calves,  overfeeding  is  dan- 
gerous, and  must  be  avoided.  Calves  are  more  easily 
made  sick  by  being  fed  poor  milk  than  pigs.  Skim-milk 
has  also  been  fed  to  lambs,  horses  and  colts  with  success. 

Cheese  may  be  made  from  skim-milk,  and  could  be 
made  a  profitable  outlet  for  large  quantities  of  the  by- 
product. A  product  called  Dutch  cheese,  or  pot  cheese, 
is  also  made  from  skim-milk,  and  finds  a  ready  sale  in 
many  cities  or  villages.  With  this,  there  seems  to  be  no 
established  price;  but  some  claim  to  be  able  to  make  a 
dollar's  worth  of  this  cheese  from  ioo  pounds  of  skim- 
milk. 

Buttermilk  ranks  close  to  skim-milk  in  feeding  value; 
but  its  physical  condition  requires  that  more  care  be 
exercised  in  feeding  it  than  is  required  in  feeding  skim- 
milk. 

As  a  human  food  it  is  excellent,  and  for  cooking  it  is 
in  demand ;  but  it  has  been  the  common  practice  for  many 
city  dealers  to  sell  poor  skim-milk  for  buttermilk,  after 
it  has  become  soured  and  unfit  for  use ;  this  has  had  the 
effect  of  decreasing  the  demand  for  buttermilk. 

Good  buttermilk,  fresh  from  the  churn,  is  more  val- 
uable for  cooking  purposes  than  whole  milk. 


How  to  Obtain  a  Good  Stand  of  Corn 

A  perfect  stand  of  corn  is  that  which  produces  the 
greatest  possible  yield.  This  is  affected  by  the  number 
of  stalks  and  their  arrangement  on  the  surface  of  the 
soil. 

Of  course,  a  perfect  stand  for  one  soil  might  be  only 
half  a  stand  for  another,  while  a  perfect  stand  for  a 
wet  season  might  be  too  thick  a  stand  for  the  same  soil 
in  a  dry  season. 

However,  no  absolute  rules  can  be  laid  down  which 
will  enable  the  corn  grower  to  decide  how  far  apart  he 
shall  make  his  rows,  or  how  thick  the  stalks  or  hills  shall 
stand  in  the  row. 

No  one  can  foretell  what  the  season  will  be.  The 
number  of  square  feet  of  soil  required  to  support  a  hill 
or  stalk  of  corn  varies  with  the  soil  fertility,  cultivation, 
rainfall,  and  other  seasonal  or  climatic  conditions,  the 
variety  of  corn,  and  many  other  factors. 

While  it  is  probably  impossible  to  secure  a  perfectly 
even  distribution  of  stalks  or  hills,  recent  experiments 
and  experience  combine  to  indicate  that  each  stalk  or  hill 
should  stand  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  center  of  a  square 
of  soil  from  which  it  draws  its  food. 

The  size  of  this  square  will,  of  course,  be  determined 
by  the  distance  between  stalks  in  the  row  and  between 
rows. 

What  this  distance  should  be  under  the  conditions  ex- 
isting in  the  different  corn-growing  States  may  be  sug- 
gested, if  not  finally  determined,  by  the  tests  carried  on 
in  the  different  States. 

At  the  Nebraska  Station,  corn  grown  in  hills  44  inches 

134 


HOW  TO  OBTAIN  GOOD  STAND  OF  CORN       135 

apart,  each  way,  produced  the  highest  yield  of  grain 
when  planted  at  the  rate  of  four  kernels  per  hill,  but 
five  kernels  produced  an  almost  equally  high  yield  of 
corn  and  a  slightly  greater  yield  of  stover. 

Two  kernels  per  hill  produced  the  largest  ears,  and 
one  kernel  per  hill  the  greatest  number  of  two-eared 
plants,  tillers,  and  ears  per  hundred  plants.  The  per- 
centage of  barren  plants  increased  with  the  number  of 
plants  per  hill. 

These  facts  sometimes  lead  seed  growers  to  plant  very 
thinly  in  the  hope  of  producing  very  large  ears  for  seed, 
but  the  opposite  practice  is  found  to  result  in  seed  having 
the  greatest  producing  power,  as  it  may  result  in  the 
elimination  of  barren  plants,  and  those  that  do  not  pro- 
duce well  under  adverse  conditions. 

Corn  grown  at  three  rates,  namely,  at  I,  3  and  5  plants 
per  hill,  for  three  years,  showed  an  average  producing 
power  of  3.6  bushels  more  for  the  thickest  planting  than 
for  the  thinnest. 

At  the  Kansas  Station,  corn  was  grown  in  rows,  2, 
2lA>  3,  3J<2  and  4  feet  apart,  and  from  4  to  20  inches 
apart  in  the  row ;  both  listed  and  surface-planted  corn 
were  tested  in  rows  3^  and  4  feet  apart,  but  all  narrower 
rows  were  surface  planted. 

Both  listed  and  surface-planted  corn  gave  the  best  re- 
sults when  the  rows  were  4  feet  apart,  and  the  stalks 
16  inches  apart,  while  in  1891  the  best  results  were  ob- 
tained when  rows  were  2^/2  feet  apart,  stalks  16  inches 
apart. 

The  average  results  for  three  years'  work  at  the 
Missouri  Station  indicate  that  the  maximum  yields  from 
corn  planted  in  hills  45  inches  apart  each  way,  was  ob- 
tained from  planting  3  or  4  grains  per  hill,  4.3  bushels 
per  acre  less  being  secured  from  planting  2  grains  per 
hill.  Lower  yields  were  secured  in  hills  45  by  22*^2 ,  or 
45  by  15. 


136      HOW  TO  OBTAIN  GOOD  STAND  OF  CORN 

On  good  land  the  largest  yield  of  704  bushels  per  acre 
was  secured  by  leaving  4  stalks  per  hill,  in  hills  45  inches 
apart  each  way,  while  on  poor  land  the  largest  yield  of 
36  bushels  per  acre  resulted  from  thinning  to  2  stalks 
per  hill. 

Four  stalks  per  hill  gave  a  yield  of  6.6  bushels  less  per 
acre,  more  than  half  of  which  was  unmerchantable.  One 
stalk  per  hill  produced  almost  as  large  a  yield  on  poor 
land  as  did  4,  and  almost  every  ear  was  merchantable. 

In  all  cases  the  thicker  the  planting  the  larger  the  yield 
of  stover  and  the  greater  the  proportion  of  nubbins. 

Eighty-five  per  cent  of  a  stand  produced  2.y2  bushels 
per  acre  more  grain  than  did  85  per  cent  of  a  stand  in 
which  the  missing  hills  were  replanted,  and  12  bushels 
more  than  when  the  entire  plat  was  planted  over.  Ninety- 
four  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand  produced  2.2  bushels 
per  acre  more  than  85  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand. 

At  the  Ohio  Station,  one  grain  every  12  inches,  or  2 
grains  every  24  inches,  produced  better  results  than 
three  grains  every  36  inches,  or  four  grains  every  48 
inches.  One  grain  every  18  inches  proved  insufficient  to 
secure  a  maximum  crop,  but  produced  the  largest  per- 
centage of  ears.  Four  grains  every  42  inches  proved  en- 
tirely too  thick  for  best  results.  The  work  was  continued 
for  three  years. 

Ten  years'  test  at  the  Indiana  Station  showed  that  in 
seasonable  years  the  yields  of  both  corn  and  stover  are 
greater  from  thick  planting,  but  that  in  the  very  dry 
year  of  1894  the  yield  of  corn  was  less  and  of  stover 
greater  from  thick  planting. 

At  the  Maine  Station,  one  acre  of  land  fertilized  with 
10  two-horse  loads  of  stable  manure  and  750  pounds  of 
commercial  fertilizer  produced,  respectively,  5,246,  5,390, 
and  4,448  pounds  per  acre  of  dry  matter  when  kernels 
were  planted  6,  9,  and  12  inches  apart,  but  the  ears  were 


HOW  TO  OBTAIN  GOOD  STAND  OF  CORN      137 

larger  when  the  planting  was  at  a  distance  of  9  and  12 
inches. 

At  the  Louisiana  Station,  stalks  18  inches  apart  in  five- 
foot  rows,  produced  the  largest  results,  although  a  closer 
planting  might  have  proved  more  profitable  during  a 
more  favorable  season,  but  is  not  recommended  as  a 
general  practice. 

At  the  Alabama  Station,  on  poor  and  sandy  land,  to 
which  complete  fertilizer  was  added  at  the  rate  of  320 
pounds  per  acre,  the  yield  was  largest  when  the  constant 
area  devoted  to  each  plant  produced,  was  a  perfect  square 
in  shape;  that  is,  when  15  square  feet  was  so  planted 
that  the  distance  in  the  drill  was  about  equal  to  the  dis- 
tance between  rows. 

The  highest  average  yield  for  two  years  resulted  from 
single  plants  three  feet,  nine  inches  apart,  in  rows  four 
feet  apart,  but  plants  three  feet  apart  in  rows  five  feet 
wide,  were  more  cheaply  cultivated. 

A  row  of  cow-peas  should  be  planted  between  corn 
rows  on  very  poor  land,  in  which  case  the  corn  rows 
should  be  at  least  five  feet  apart. 

At  the  Georgia  Station,  ten  years'  experiments  indicated 
that  land  capable  of  producing  25  to  40  bushels  of  shelled 
corn  per  acre  should  be  so  planted  as  to  grow  3,630  plants 
per  acre. 

This  number  may  be  secured  by  planting  32  inches 
apart  in  4>4-foot  rows,  36  inches  apart  in  4- foot  rows, 
or  42  inches  apart  in  3^ -foot  rows. 

Soil  capable  of  producing  15  to  25  bushels  per  acre 
produces  its  maximum  yield  when  16  square  feet  are 
allowed  per  plant,  or  2,722  plants  per  acre. 

This  number  should  be  secured  by  planting  38^  inches 
apart  in  5-foot  rows,  32  inches  apart  in  4^ -foot  rows, 
or  48  inches  apart  in  4-foot  rows.  Soils  capable  of  pro- 
ducing 10  to  15  bushels  per  acre,  give  their  maximum 


138      HOW  TO  OBTAIN  GOOD  STAND  OF  CORN 

yield  when  18  to  24  square  feet  per  stalk  is  allowed,  or 
from  2,420  to  1,850  hills  to  the  acre. 

Eighteen  square  feet  per  stalk  may  be  secured  by 
planting  36  inches  apart  in  6-foot  rows,  or  43  inches 
apart  in  5-foot  rows,  or  4  feet,  3  inches  apart  each  way. 

At  the  Texas  Station  the  highest  average  yield  for  five 
varieties  tested,  resulted  from  planting  4  feet  by  2J/2 
feet  apart,  while  the  planting  3  feet  by  2^  feet  apart 
stood  second,  5  by  3  third,  and  4^2  by  3  gave  the  lowest 
yields.  Golden  Beauty  and  Learning  produced  the  best 
yields  from  close  planting,  while  Thomas,  100-day  Bristol 
and  Forsyth  Favorite,  did  best  in  4- foot  rows,  planted 
2.y2   feet  apart  in  the  drill. 

The  increase  of  2.2  bushels  per  acre  which  the  work 
at  the  Missouri  Station  indicated  would  result  from  im- 
proving the  stand  from  85  to  94  per  cent.  A  perfect 
stand  would,  if  secured  for  each  of  the  108,771,000  acres 
devoted  to  the  corn  crop  in  1909,  secure  an  increase  of 
$142,620,535.20,  at  the  farm  value  of  59.6  cents  per 
bushel. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  comparatively  few  fields 
have  even  85  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand.  In  view  of 
the  opinion  of  prominent  authorities  on  this  subject,  that 
the  average  corn  field  has  not  over  66  per  cent  of  a  per- 
fect stand,  while  in  many  cases  the  percentage  is  less 
than  40,  it  is  difficult  to  compute  the  loss  resulting  to  the 
corn-growers  of  the  United  States  from  this  cause. 


The  Culture  of  Broomcorn 

The  principal  crops  of  broomcorn  are  raised  in  Kansas, 
Oklahoma  and  southern  Illinois,  although  this  crop  will 
grow  in  other  sections  of  the  country  where  soil  and 
climatic  conditions  are  favorable. 

It  is  a  profitable  crop,  as  the  price  per  ton  for  the 
brush  usually  ranges  from  $50  for  the  lower  grades  that 
are  damaged  by  the  weather  up  to  $200  and  over  for  the 
very  best.  The  prices  for  1910  ranged  from  $140  to  $190 
per  ton. 

In  the  Southwest  it  is  becoming  more  important  as  a 
forage  crop,  and  it  is  used  to  a  considerable  extent  after 
the  brush  has  been  removed.  The  seed  has  but  small 
feeding  value. 

The  two  best  types  of  broomcorn  grown  in  the  South- 
west particularly  are  the  Dwarf  and  the  Standard.  The 
Dwarf  is  much  liked  because  it  grows  only  from  four  to 
six  inches  high,  with  a  brush  of  from  12  to  20  inches, 
however.  This  type  is  better  suited  to  the  semi-arid 
regions  and  to  the  uplands  of  the  broomcorn  section  in 
the  Southwest. 

The  soil  should  be  plowed  in  the  fall  or  early  in  the 
spring,  so  that  it  will  retain  as  much  moisture  as  pos- 
sible. About  two  weeks  before  planting,  the  land  should 
be  disked  and  harrowed,  and,  if  necessary,  harrowed  a 
second  time  before  planting.  Broomcorn  is  a  good  sod- 
crop. 

Broomcorn  plants  are  very  tender,  and  make  the  most 
rapid  growth  in  warm  weather.  They  will  not  stand  the 
cold  of  early  spring  like  corn.    The  seed  will  rot  before 

139 


140  THE  CULTURE  OF  BROOMCORN 

germinating,  or  if  the  plant  germinates  the  growth  will 
be  retarded  by  continued  cold. 

When  large  areas  are  planted,  the  most  convenient  way 
is  to  divide  the  field  into  sections  of  about  ten  acres  each, 
and  plant  at  intervals  of  about  a  week.  The  crop  demands 
prompt  attention,  and  if  this  system  of  planting  is  fol- 
lowed, there  is  not  so  much  danger  of  damage  to  the 
brush  from  rain,  or  becoming  too  ripe. 

In  case  farm  hands  are  scarce,  the  scarcity  is  not  so 
keenly  felt,  for  there  is  not  a  very  large  crop  that 
demands  attention  within  a  period  of  a  few  days.  A 
few  hands  can  take  care  of  comparatively  large  fields, 
and  it  is  much  more  convenient  than  to  plant  the  whole 
field  on  a  single  day. 

The  method  of  planting  is  about  the  same  as  for  Kaffir 
corn.  Plant  in  rows  about  three  feet  apart,  and  four  to 
five  inches  apart  in  the  row.  The  Standard,  due  to  its 
large  growth,  is  planted  in  rows  about  three  and  a  half 
feet  apart. 

Selecting  good  seed  is  very  important.  Good  seed 
should  give  a  germination  of  90  to  95  per  cent,  and  seed 
should  not  be  used  that  falls  much  below  this  standard. 
By  using  seed  that  gives  a  germination  test  above  90  per 
cent,  one  bushel  is  sufficient  quantity  to  plant  twenty 
acres ;  or  two  quarts  of  seed  will  plant  an  acre. 

The  soil  should  be  in  good  condition  when  seeded; 
then  the  cultivation  should  begin  early  and  be  repeated 
frequently  to  prevent  the  weeds  from  getting  a  start  of 
the  slow-growing  plants.  A  sharp-tooth  harrow  is  some- 
times used  just  as  the  plants  are  coming  up. 

After  one  good  harrowing,  the  field  should  receive 
about  two  cultivations  of  medium  depth,  then  the  rest 
of  the  cultivation  should  be  shallow,  so  as  not  to  injure 
the  root  system. 

In  this  way  the  soil  is  finely  pulverized,  forming  a  dust 
blanket  which  aids  in  the  conservation  of  moisture. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  BROOMCORN  141 

Broomcorn  is  a  crop  that  will  not  stand  in  the  field 
without  great  damage  after  it  is  ready  to  harvest.  It 
should  be  harvested  just  as  the  plants  are  coming  into 
full  bloom,  or  when  the  anthers  are  falling  from  the  head. 

The  head  of  the  Dwarf  is  enclosed  in  a  sheaf  or  "boot." 
It  is  more  convenient  to  pull  the  head  than  to  cut  it,  after 
which  the  boot  is  removed.  The  heads  are  usually  pulled 
and  piled  in  bunches  along  the  row.  The  brush  from 
three  or  four  rows  is  piled  together,  and  after  drying 
for  two  or  three  days,  is  gathered  and  stacked  in  small 

ricks. 

Because  of  the  greater  height  of  the  Standard  broom- 
corn,  it  is  necessary  to  bend  the  heads  over  to  make  them 
easy  to  cut.  The  stalks  are  bent  at  a  height  of  about 
three  feet. 

Two  adjacent  rows  are  bent  diagonally  across  the  inter- 
vening space  so  that  the  portion  of  the  stalks  above  the 
sharp  bend  is  supported  in  a  horizontal  position,  with  the 
seed-heads  of  one  row  extending  about  two  feet  beyond 
the  opposite  row. 

This  method  is  called  "tabling."  One  man  can  table  as 
fast  as  two  can  cut.  In  cutting,  the  operator  walks  along 
the  spaces  between  the  tables,  and  cuts  the  heads  six  or 
eight  inches  below  the  attachment  of  the  straws. 

The  brush  as  cut  is  laid  by  handfuls  upon  every  second 
table,  making  it  very  convenient  for  loading  on  a  wagon. 

After  drying,  the  brush  should  still  retain  the  green 
color.  To  accomplish  this,  do  not  dry  it  in  the  sun,  as  it 
will  be  bleached  to  a  light-brown  color.  By  curing  in 
sheds  the  original  green  color  can  be  retained  to  a  large 
extent,  and  as  a  result  the  brush  will  command  a  much 
better  price.  The  average  time  of  drying  is  about  thirty 
days.    It  is  then  threshed  and  baled. 


The  Sugar  Beet  Industry 

In  the  general  scheme  of  diversified  farming  the  sugar 
beet  may  become  one  of  the  most  profitable  features. 
Sugar  is  an  article  of  such  general  consumption  that 
for  economic  reasons  it  ought  to  be  produced  in  this 
country. 

While  politicians  may  wrangle  over  the  economic  prob- 
lems of  a  tariff,  it  might  be  well  if  we  would  bear  in 
mind  that  homely,  but  wise,  answer  given  by  the  im- 
mortal Lincoln  when  asked  his  opinion  on  the  tariff.  He 
said:  "If  we  buy  from  Europe  a  ton  of  rails,  we  get 
the  rails  and  Europe  gets  the  money;  but  if  we  produce 
the  rails,  we  have  both  the  rails  and  the  money." 

At  the  present  time  we  have  about  seventy  factories 
in  the  United  States,  of  which  ten  are  in  California. 
In  1897  there  was  produced  in  the  United  States  45,000 
tons  of  beet  sugar,  while  there  was  produced  in  191 1 
560,000  tons.  If  it  were  not  for  the  unfortunate  agita- 
tions that  come  up  over  the  sugar  question,  the  sugar 
beet  industry  would  by  this  time  have  become  much 
larger  than  it  is. 

There  is  land  suitable  for  beet  culture  that  could  be  used 
to  produce  all  the  sugar  we  need  in  America.  The  present 
consumption  of  sugar  amounts  to  about  four  million  tons, 
about  one-sixth  of  which  is  produced  in  the  United  States, 
the  balance  being  imported  raw  from  foreign  coun- 
tries where  cheap  labor  is  available,  and  the  cost  of  re- 
fining the  sugar  in  the  United  States  is  only  about  one- 
half  cent  per  pound.  If  we  imported  all  the  sugar  we 
used,  and  merely  refined  it  in  this  country  at  that  re- 

142 


THE  SUGAR  BEET  INDUSTRY  143 

fining  cost  of  one-half  cent  a  pound,  it  would  contribute 
to  the  American  industry  only  about  twenty-three  million 
dollars,  whereas  to  produce  the  same  amount  of  sugar 
from  American  grown  beets  would  contribute  close  to 
three  hundred  million  dollars  to  the  American  industry. 

But  there  are  other  and  more  important  reasons  why 
the  beet  sugar  industry  should  be  fostered  in  the  United 
States,  and  one  of  these  is  on  account  of  the  beet's  value 
in  crop  rotation.  In  European  countries  where  beet- 
growing  is  practiced  it  is  found  that  they  get  much 
larger  yields  of  crops  per  acre  than  we  do  in  this  coun- 
try. Take  for  example  barley.  Our  greatest  barley 
states  are  California,  Minnesota  and  South  Dakota;  and 
from  the  four  million  acres  of  barley  we  harvest  about 
ninety-two  million  bushels,  while  Germany  harvests 
from  about  the  same  acreage  one  hundred  and  sixty  mil- 
lion bushels,  or  seventy  per  cent  more  than  we  do.  The 
same  is  true  of  other  crops.  Our  average  yield  of  wheat 
per  acre  is  about  fourteen  bushels  against  Germany's 
twenty-eight  bushels;  our  average  yield  of  oats  is  about 
twenty- four  bushels  against  Germany's  fifty-eight;  our 
average  yield  of  potatoes  is  ninety-five  bushels  against 
Germany's  two  hundred  and  five. 

Moreover,  European  economists  say  that  if  cane  and 
beet  sugar  could  be  produced  side  by  side,  the  cane  sugar 
at  a  cost  of  two  cents  per  pound  and  the  beet  sugar  at  a 
cost  of  four  cents  per  pound,  it  would  be  cheaper  for  the 
nation  to  raise  the  beet  sugar  on  account  of  the  indirect 
agricultural  advantages  to  be  obtained  through  rotating 
the  land  with  sugar  beets. 

Good  drainage  and  deep  plowing  are  necessary  in  the 
cultivation  of  sugar  beets.  Instead  of  the  ordinary  fur- 
row four  or  five  inches  deep,  it  is  best  to  make  it  ten  to 
fourteen  inches.  The  reason  is  that  the  root  of  the  plant 
is  fed  from  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  and  the  water  from 
the  soil.    Very  little  nutriment  is  secured  from  the  soil, 


144       THE  SUGAR  BEET  INDUSTRY 

the  larger  part  of  the  beet  being  water  and  the  nitrogen 
which  is  caught  by  the  leaves  and  absorbed  by  the  root. 
But  in  the  plowing,  several  methods  are  employed  by 
industrious  raisers.  Some  use  an  ordinary  breaking 
plow  and  follow  that  with  another  plowing  in  its  furrow, 
thus  necessitating  covering  the  ground  twice.  Others  use 
a  subsoiler.  This  is  an  attachment  which  is  built  into  an 
ordinary  breaking  plow  and  its  function  is  to  break  up 
the  subsoil.  This  leaves  the  ground  loose  for  the  re- 
quired distance. 

The  more  progressive  farmers  are  now  adopting  the 
deep  tillage  plow.  This  is  a  late  invention  that  can  be 
be  adjusted  to  plow  from  16  to  24  inches  in  depth.  It 
takes  from  a  12  to  16-inch  furrow  in  width  and  ac- 
complishes its  work  as  fast  as  the  regular  plow.  By 
using  the  subsoiling  method  of  farming  the  use  of  about 
three  times  as  much  land  is  possible  and  the  value  of  the 
productive  possibilities  is  enhanced  considerably. 

The  plowing  should  be  done  as  late  in  the  fall  as  possi- 
ble and  the  land  allowed  to  lie  thus  all  winter.  As  soon 
as  you  can  get  into  the  fields  in  the  spring  give  the  land 
an  extra  good  harrowing,  and  then  cross-harrow  it.  In 
fact,  put  a  garden  finish  on  the  field  and  the  work  of 
seeding  will  be  materially  lightened.  Every  hour  and 
dollar  expended  on  preparation  will  be  well  repaid  in  the 
reduced  cost  of  cultivation  later  in  the  season.  The  man 
who  plows  deep  and  gives  the  field  a  thorough  dressing 
is  sure  to  get  a  good  crop. 

The  seeding  is  done  with  a  special  beet  drill  and  the 
average  distance  between  the  rows  is  20  inches.  This 
is  often  varied,  however,  and  some  fields  have  given  good 
yields  with  the  rows  only  16  inches  apart.  Others  plant 
2  feet  apart.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  the  productive 
capacity  of  the  land  and  the  degree  of  wealth  the  farmer 
wants  from  the  crop.     The  drill  seeds  the  land  in  much 


THE  SUGAR  BEET  INDUSTRY  145 

the  same  manner  that  oats  or  other  small  grain  is  drilled 
and  the  rows  show  up  in  the  same  manner  as  they  do. 

The  small  plants  are  allowed  to  grow  thus  for  a  period 
of  10  days  or  two  weeks  and  then  the  farm  help  go 
into  the  field  and  commence  thinning.  This  is  a  double 
operation.  The  first  is  done  with  a  wide  hoe,  the  work- 
men going  along  a  row  and  at  equal  spaces  cutting  out 
the  intervening  plants,  thus  leaving  a  small  bunch  of 
plants  at  regular  intervals  along  the  row.  This  work  is 
accomplished  as  soon  as  possible  so  that  the  small  plants 
will  have  plenty  of  room  to  grow.  The  second  opera- 
tion is  the  thinning  of  the  bunches  down  to  one  plant. 
The  workmen  go  along  to  each  bunch  and  pick  out  all 
the  plants  but  the  most  lively  one,  and  then  the  most  care- 
ful attention  is  given  this  plant,  for  if  it  dies  there  will 
not  be  time  to  grow  another  to  maturity  in  its  place.  The 
beets  require  as  early  planting  as  possible  and  are  sel- 
dom harvested  before  the  first  frosts. 

The  cultivation  of  the  beet  crop  should  be  given  great 
care  and  the  attention  it  needs  at  the  time  it  needs  it. 
Beets  are  cultivated  at  least  once  each  week  by  a  special 
cultivator  which  handles  two  rows  at  each  trip  across 
the  field.  Shallow  cultivation  will  prove  to  be  the  best  if 
the  work  is  done  frequently.  It  is  impossible  to  cross- 
work  the  field,  so  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  through  the 
field  about  two  or  three  times  during  the  season  with  the 
hoe  and  cut  out  all  weeds.  The  elimination  of  weeds 
is  necessary  to  give  a  proper  beet  growth. 

The  beets  are  harvested  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe  by 
the  use  of  a  lifter.  The  size  of  the  beets  precludes  the 
possibility  of  pulling  them  by  hand  successfully.  It  will 
be  found  advisable  to  clean  off  the  soil  to  a  certain  extent 
so  that  no  losses  may  be  had  through  inaccurate  tare 
weight  at  the  factory.  The  beets  may  be  left  in  the  field 
where  thrown  out  by  the  lifter  until  the  topping  process 
can  be  reached  as  frost  will  not  have  any  injurious  effect 


146  THE  SUGAR  BEET  INDUSTRY 

on  the  sugar  values  if  not  repeated  too  often.  Repeated 
freezing  will  ruin  the  beet  as  the  thawing  of  the  beet 
releases  a  part  of  the  sap  and  sugar  that  it  carries. 

The  topping  is  done  with  an  ordinary  knife,  the  opera- 
tion being  to  cut  off  the  top  of  the  beet  so  that  all  the 
green  sprout  is  removed.  If  the  topping  is  not  done  close 
enough  the  weigher  will  deduct  a  percentage  for  tare  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  the  green  top  does  not  contain 
any  sugar  values.  The  beet  need  not  be  cut  square  across 
but  just  close  enough  to  remove  the  green  sprouts.  After 
the  beets  are  topped  they  are  thrown  into  convenient  piles 
where  they  await  loading  for  transportation  to  the  fac- 
tory. Generally  the  order  is  sent  to  the  grower  just 
when  the  factory  desires  him  to  start  getting  in  his  beets. 

In  reference  to  the  yields  that  may  be  expected  it  may 
be  said  that  the  yield  will  fluctuate  in  proportion  to  the 
care  given  the  crop.  One  farmer  having  just  as  good 
land  as  the  man  across  the  road  may  only  get  a  third 
of  the  yield  owing  to  his  slipshod  methods  of  cultivation. 
In  figures  the  minimum  is  close  to  six  tons  to  the  acre 
and  the  maximum  is  about  40  tons.  The  average  may 
be  close  to  18  or  20  tons  to  the  acre  and  at  the  contract 
price  of  say  $5  per  ton  for  16  per  cent  beets  you  can 
figure  the  profits  for  yourself.  This  is  not  taking  into 
consideration  any  of  the  indirect  profits  which  accrue 
from  this  crop.  Briefly  speaking  it  may  be  said  that  time 
and  again  it  has  been  shown  that  when  beets  re-rotated 
once  each  four  years  with  oats,  corn  and  wheat,  it  in- 
creased the  yields  of  the  other  crops  a  considerable  per 
cent.    Just  why,  is  a  story  in  itself. 

Probably  the  cheapest  fertilizer  that  you  can  get  for 
beet  land  is  the  tops  after  they  have  been  cut  off  the 
beets.  Leaving  the  tops  on  the  ground  to  rot  through  the 
winter  and  then  plowing  them  under  in  the  spring  will 
be  found  to  give  a  good  coat  of  fertilizer  and  one  that 
will  be  strong  enough  to  nurture  the  crop.    Stable  manure 


THE  SUGAR  BEET  INDUSTRY  147 

is  excellent  if  you  have  it,  but  it  should  be  well  rotted  and 
evenly  spread  over  the  field.  The  purchase  of  com- 
mercial fertilizers  is  made  to  some  extent  but  the  cost  of 
the  product  has  led  to  its  being  slowly  adopted.  It  will 
hardly  get  any  lower  in  price  and  if  you  have  no  fertilizer 
of  any  kind  it  will  probably  be  best  if  a  small  amount  is 
used.  If  any  other  method  of  fertilizing  is  available  by 
all  means  use  that. 

The  rotation  of  the  crops  will  be  advantageous  for  it 
will  give  the  land  a  rest  each  season.  The  necessities 
of  the  various  plants  are  different.  By  rotating  corn, 
wheat  and  oats  after  a  crop  of  beets  an  increase  in  all  the 
crops  will  be  found.  Some  farmers  find  it  profitable  to 
rotate  a  crop  of  potatoes  with  the  small  grains.  For  the 
past  ioo  years  the  farmers  of  France  have  raised  sugar 
beets  and  rotated  their  crops  in  the  above  manner  and 
they  have  succeeded  in  building  up  the  once  barren 
wastes  of  France  into  the  most  productive  areas  in  the 
world.  The  reason  given  for  this  is  the  thorough 
cultivation  demanded  by  beets.  And  then  almost  uncon- 
sciously the  same  methods  are  adopted  in  the  farming  of 
other  crops,  to  the  added  profit  and  advantage  of  the 
grower. 

The  pulp  resulting  from  the  extraction  of  the  beet 
sugar  possesses  great  feeding  values  for  stock  and  in 
almost  all  cases  it  is  hauled  off  by  the  farmers  as  soon 
as  it  is  thrown  out  at  the  factory. 


Irrigation  by  Wells  Profitable 

No  feature  of  western  agriculture,  except  probably  dry 
farming,  has  had  as  hard  a  struggle  for  recognition  and 
commercial  standing  as  that  of  irrigation  from  wells. 
Ten  years  ago  it  was  hooted  at  as  a  chimera  and  a  play- 
thing. Even  today,  scores  of  successful  agriculturists 
in  the  west  contend  that  it  is  utterly  impracticable  and 
unprofitable  except  in  a  few  favored  instances.  Well 
irrigation  has  more  enthusiastic  advocates  and  more  bit- 
ter critics  than  almost  any  measure  affecting  the  pros- 
perity of  the  west. 

About  15  years  ago,  J.  L.  Bristow,  now  a  United  States 
senator  from  Kansas,  sought  to  interest  the  farmers  of 
the  central  west  in  a  movement  for  well  irrigation.  Start- 
ing in  the  midst  of  a  cycle  of  dry  years,  the  movement 
sprang  into  immediate  favor  and  assumed  considerable 
proportions.  "Pump  the  underflow!"  was  Mr.  Bris- 
tow's  slogan.  Subsequent  wet  years  rather  checked  the 
movement  as  a  country-wide  proposition,  yet  much  of  the 
well  irrigation  in  western  Kansas  and  Nebraska  and  in 
Colorado  of  today  may  be  traced  back  to  Bristow's  plan 
to  redeem  the  entire  west  from  the  drought  tyrant. 

Following  this  movement,  the  government,  a  few  years 
later,  began  experiments  which  resulted  in  the  institu- 
tion of  a  reclamation  project  at  Garden  City,  Kan.,  the 
source  of  water  supply  being  the  underflow  of  the  Ar- 
kansas River.  This  is  now  the  most  extensive  well  irri- 
gation district  in  the  United  States.  More  than  250  wells 
are  drained  by  electric  power  generated  at  a  central 
power  plant.     The  wells  are  in  28  groups,  a  pumping 

148 


IRRIGATION  BY  WELLS  PROFITABLE  149 

station  being  maintained  at  each  group.  The  series  of 
stations  cover  a  distance  of  five  miles,  the  water  flowing 
into  a  huge  concrete  conduit,  which  carries  it  to  the 
laterals  radiating  into  the  fields.  About  10,000  acres  of 
land  are  watered  from  this  plant,  mostly  devoted  to  sugar 
beets  and  alfalfa.  The  cost  of  the  water  to  the  farmers 
is  $3  an  acre  yearly,  with  some  small  fees  additional,  and 
after  a  series  of  years,  following  the  plan  of  all  gov- 
ernment projects,  the  great  system  will  become  the  prop- 
erty of  the  landowners. 

At  the  time  of  the  Bristow  movement,  not  500  acres 
in  the  United  States  were  under  well  irrigation.  Now 
the  area  so  irrigated,  including  rice  irrigation  in  Louisiana 
and  Texas,  is  750,000  acres.  In  California  alone  200,000 
are  under  water  from  wells,  the  lift  in  many  places  be- 
ing as  much  as  200  feet.  Critics  of  the  new  departure 
contend  that  water  cannot  possibly  be  lifted  more  than 
20  or  30  feet  at  any  profit.  California  agriculturists, 
however,  lift  water  up  to  200  feet,  carry  it  for  miles  in 
cement  ditches,  and  find  the  growing  of  alfalfa,  which 
sells  for  $15  a  ton,  profitable.  Barley,  wheat  and  all 
manner  of  crops  are  grown  with  this  same  expensive 
water — water  which  costs  from  $5  to  $10,  and  even  as 
high  as  $15  an  acre  for  the  year. 

In  portions  of  the  rice-growing  sections  of  the  South, 
water  from  wells  is  now  used  for  flooding,  in  places,  in 
preference  to  bayou  or  creek  water.  In  the  rice  coun- 
ties of  Arkansas  wells  furnish  the  water  exclusively  for 
a  profitable  industry.  Rice  culture  requires  many  times 
the  amount  of  water  necessary  for  ordinary  irrigation, 
but  the  crop  is  highly  remunerative,  thus  making  prac- 
ticable the  heavy  cost  of  pumping. 

It  is  manifest  that  large  works,  like  the  Garden  City 
project,  would  only  be  feasible  where  large  bodies  of 
subterranean  water  exist.  Such  underflows,  however,  are 
not  unusual,  and  in  practically  every  region  the  ordinary 


150  IRRIGATION  BY  WELLS  PROFITABLE 

well  is  available.  True,  the  depth  to  the  water  varies 
and  is  often  great  and  the  supply  may  not  be  inexhaust- 
ible, but  each  in  its  degree  will  aid  in  the  growth  of  crops, 
and  is  a  valuable  acquisition  to  any  farm  where  the  supply 
of  moisture  is  inadequate. 

Well  irrigation  is  especially  adapted  to  small  tracts 
of  from  20  to  40  acres,  but  like  all  enterprises,  large 
operations  can  usually  be  conducted  more  economically 
than  small  ones.  Given  the  possibility  of  securing  a  good 
well,  it  costs  approximately  $25  an  acre  to  place  small 
tracts  under  such  irrigation.  In  a  section  in  New  Mexico 
where  a  strong  underflow  is  encountered  at  depths  vary- 
ing from  15  to  100  feet,  it  is  calculated  that  a  plant  can 
be  installed  for  $2,000  which  will  be  capable  of  water- 
ing 200  acres.  The  annual  cost  of  operation  will  average 
smaller  as  the  scale  of  operations  increases.  There  are, 
however,  many  advantages  for  the  small  farmer,  and  in 
the  end  his  profits  will  doubtless  be  large. 

Power  is  the  most  important  and  the  most  expensive 
item  to  take  account  of.  Where  electricity  is  unavailable, 
gasoline  engines  must  be  resorted  to  and  the  high  cost 
of  fuel,  especially  in  the  remote  localities,  is  a  serious 
obstacle.  In  this  New  Mexico  locality  it  costs  from  $3 
to  $4  an  acre  foot  to  produce  water,  and  under  present 
conditions  2  feet  or  more  are  necessary  to  produce  a 
crop.  The  endeavor  now  is  to  combine  the  irrigation 
and  dry  farming  methods,  thus  reducing  the  quantity  of 
water  necessary.  Wind  power  is  used  to  some  extent 
and  is  less  expensive  than  any  other,  but  it  can  only  be 
utilized  in  connection  with  large  storage  tanks  or  reser- 
voirs. It  often  happens  that  the  wind  ceases  to  blow 
just  the  time  when  water  is  most  needed. 


Advantages  of  Concrete  on  Farms 

Farmers  of  all  classes  will  find  it  profitable  to  have  con- 
crete buildings,  troughs,  tanks  and  walks  on  their  prem- 
ises. 

Persons  starting  in  agriculture  should  not  neglect  the 
opportunity  to  have  substantial  and  fireproof  structures. 
It  is  easy  to  go  ahead  on  this  line  from  the  beginning, 
though  hard  to  change  after  a  start  has  been  made  with 
frame  buildings. 

Concrete  is  as  cheap  as  lumber  for  building  purposes, 
and  even  cheaper,  if  sand,  gravel  and  labor  are  largely 
furnished  on  the  place.  An  ordinary  farm  hand  will  be- 
come expert  in  the  use  of  concrete  with  a  few  days'  expe- 
rience. 

Silos,  barns  and  other  buildings  made  of  this  material 
are  much  safer  than  wood  against  fire  and  storm.  There 
is  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  live  stock,  machinery  and 
crops  are  not  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  the  flames. 
It  is  a  pleasure  also  to  have  the  snug  shelter  and 
tasty  appearance  that  may  be  obtained  from  cement 
construction. 

The  largest  part  of  concrete  is  the  gravel  or  crushed 
stone.  This  should  be  clean;  that  is,  free  from  loam, 
clay  or  vegetable*matter.  The  best  results  are  obtained 
from  a  mixture  of  sizes  graded  from  the  smallest,  which 
is  retained  on  a  one-fourth  inch  screen,  to  the  larger  ones 
that  will  pass  a  one  and  one-half  inch  ring.  For  heavy 
foundation  and  abutment  work,  larger  sized  pebbles  and 
stones  might  be  used,  while  for  reinforced  concrete  work 

151 


152       ADVANTAGES  OF  CONCRETE  ON  FARMS 

pebbles  larger  than  those  passing  a  one  inch  ring  should 
not  be  used. 

In  the  selection  of  sand  the  greatest  care  should  be 
used,  and  critical  attention  should  be  given  to  its  quality, 
for  sand  contributes  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the 
amount  of  the  materials  used  in  making  concrete.  Sand 
may  be  considered  as  including  all  grains  and  small  peb- 
bles that  will  pass  through  a  wire  screen  with  one-fourth 
inch  meshes,  while  gravel  in  general  is  the  pebbles  and 
stones  retained  upon  such  a  screen.  The  sand  should  be 
clean,  coarse,  and,  if  possible,  free  from  loam,  clay  and 
vegetable  matter. 

In  mixing  materials  for  concrete  use  two  and  a  half 
times  as  much  sand  as  Portland  cement,  and  twice  as 
much  gravel  or  stone  as  sand — that  is,  one  part  cement, 
two  and  a  half  parts  sand  and  five  parts  gravel  or 
crushed  stone.  Use  just  enough  water  to  get  the  consist- 
ency desired.  If  the  sand  is  very  fine  the  cement  should 
be  increased  from  10  to  15  per  cent.  When  the  mixture 
does  not  have  a  uniform  color,  but  looks  streaky,  it  has 
not  been  fully  mixed. 

If  the  mixture  does  not  work  well  and  the  sand  and 
cement  do  not  fill  the  voids  in  the  stone,  the  percentage 
of  stone  should  be  reduced  slightly,  but  the  concrete 
should  first  be  properly  mixed.  Concrete  that  is  poorly 
mixed  may  present  features  that  are  entirely  eliminated 
by  turning  it  over  once  or  twice  more. 

Concrete  wet  enough  to  be  mushy  and  run  off  a  shovel 
when  being  handled  is  used  for  reinforced  work,  thin 
walls,  or  other  thin  sections.  Concrete  just  wet  enough 
to  make  it  jellylike  is  used  for  some  reinforced  work  and 
also  for  foundations,  floors,  etc.  It  requires  ramming 
with  a  tamper  to  remove  air  bubbles  and  to  fill  voids. 
This  concrete  is  of  a  medium  consistency. 

Sometimes  bank  or  creek  gravel,  which  will  answer 
the  purpose  of  sand  and  gravel  combined,  can  be  ob- 


ADVANTAGES  OF  CONCRETE  ON  FARMS       153 

tained,  and  it  is  frequently  used  on  the  farm  and  in  small 
jobs  of  concrete  work  just  as  it  comes  from  the  pit  or 
creek.  Occasionally  this  gravel  contains  nearly  the  right 
proportions  of  sand  and  gravel,  but  in  the  majority  of 
sand  pits  and  gravel  banks  there  is  a  great  variation  in 
the  sizes  of  the  grains  and  pebbles  or  gravel  and  in  the 
quantities  of  each.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  all  the 
deposits  are  formed  in  seams  or  pockets  that  make  it  im- 
possible to  secure  anything  like  uniformity.  Therefore, 
to  get  the  best  and  cheapest  concrete,  it  is  advisable  to 
screen  the  sand  and  gravel  and  to  remix  them  in  the  cor- 
rect proportions. 

Dirty  sand  makes  a  weak  concrete.  Crushed  rock  is 
much  better  than  screened  gravel  because  of  the  rougher 
edges. 

As  a  test  of  sand,  rub  it  in  the  hand  and  if  there  is 
much  dirt  left  on  the  hand  discard  that  sand. 

If,  when  a  large  handful  of  the  same  is  thrown  into  a 
pail  of  water,  it  leaves  the  water  muddy,  discard  it. 

Following  are  the  four  recognized  mixtures  for  con- 
crete : 

Rich  mixture — One  part  Portland  cement,  two  parts 
of  clean,  coarse  sand,  four  parts  of  crushed  rock.  This 
is  used  for  floors,  fence  posts,  and  the  like. 

Medium  mixture — One-half  and  one  and  two-fifths 
parts  respectively  of  cement,  sand  and  crushed  rock. 
This  mixture  is  used  for  walks  and  thin  walls. 

Ordinary  mixture — 1-3-6  for  heavy  walls,  piers,  abut- 
ments, etc. 

Lean  mixture — 1-4-8  for  footings  and  in  places  where 
volume  and  not  great  strength  is  needed. 

When  gravel  is  used,  the  proportions  are  one  part  of 
cement  and  from  six  to  nine  parts  of  gravel,  according  to 
the  amount  of  sand  in  the  gravel. 

To  make  one  cubic  yard  of  concrete  the  following 
respective  amounts  of  cement  are  required:     Rich  mix- 


154       ADVANTAGES  OF  CONCRETE  ON  FARMS 

ture  one  and  one-half  barrels ;  medium  mixture  one  and 
one- fourth  barrels ;  ordinary  mixture  one  and  one-eighth 
barrels ;  lean  mixture  seven-eighths  of  a  barrel. 

In  construction  work  such  as  floors,  barns,  fence  posts, 
bridges,  reinforcements  of  iron  are  absolutely  necessary. 
The  beginner  will  need  the  supervision  of  an  expert  in 
using  reinforcements. 

Measure  exact  amounts  for  each  part.  Mix  thor- 
oughly and  not  too  long  before  applying  the  water. 
Cement  will  set  in  20  or  30  minutes  and  if  disturbed  after 
that  loses  its  strength. 

Spread  the  sand  and  cement  on  a  mixing  board  and 
mix  thoroughly,  adding  enough  water  when  mixed  to 
bring  the  mixture  to  the  consistency  of  mortar. 

Add  the  proper  quantity  of  crushed  rock  and  mix  all 
together,  after  which  it  is  ready  for  use.  In  this  manner 
the  sand  grains  are  all  covered  with  the  finer  particles  of 
cement  and  the  crushed  rock  when  added  has  all  the 
voids  filled  with  temperate  mixture.  This  undoubtedly 
gives  the  greatest  strength  for  materials  used. 

A  very  common  method,  however,  is  to  mix  all  three 
parts  at  once  while  yet  dry  and  then  to  mix  with  water 
until  the  mixture  will  pack  well,  and  handle  with  a 
shovel. 

Get  the  form  walls  rigid  and  do  not  use  lumber  that  is 
too  dry,  as  it  takes  up  moisture  and  changes  its  shape  so 
as  to  injure  the  concrete  in  setting. 

Do  not  allow  concrete  work  to  dry  out  fast,  as  cracks 
will  appear.  It  should  be  protected  from  the  sun  for 
three  or  five  days  and  sprinkled  with  water  to  insure  even 
setting  throughout  the  concrete. 

In  two  weeks  concrete  gains  strength  sufficient  for  ordi- 
nary use,  but  60  days  should  elapse  before  it  is  given  a 
full  load. 


Important  Points  in  Building  Silos 

It  is  a  common  mistake  in  building  silos  to  construct 
them  without  sufficient  depth  of  foundation.  In  northern 
states  the  frost  line  may  be  five  feet  from  the  surface,  and 
unless  the  wall  is  put  down  to  this  depth,  the  structure  is 
apt  to  be  thrown  out  of  plumb  and  possibly  ruined  at  the 
breaking  up  of  winter. 

The  weight  of  the  silo  walls  makes  little  difference,  but 
the  damage  is  most  serious  where  cement  or  brick  has 
been  used.  Even  with  wooden  frames  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  foundation  should  not  be  five  feet  or  more  in 
depth.  The  silo  itself  may  be  dug  to  any  reasonable 
depth  in  the  ground,  so  far  as  preservation  of  fodder  is 
concerned.  There  is  no  material  damage  from  water  set- 
tling at  the  bottom,  most  of  the  liquid  being  held  in  the 
silage.  This  is  merely  a  question  of  convenience,  and  it 
would  seem  wise  to  make  the  cavity  as  low  as  it  is  neces- 
sary to  put  the  walls — that  is,  three  to  five  feet. 

Farmers  are  turning  from  wooden  silos  to  those  of 
cement  and  brick,  in  order  to  gain  security,  many  of  the 
lighter  structures  having  been  destroyed  by  wind.  They 
do  not  gain  security,  however,  unless  the  foundation  is 
right,  and  as  the  average  cost  is  higher  with  cement  or 
brick,  it  seems  like  a  foolish  risk  to  have  any  but  the  most 
durable  work. 

In  nearly  every  case  where  silo  walls  are  seen  to  be 
cracked  or  out  of  plumb,  it  will  be  found  the  trouble 
started  with  a  poor  foundation.  The  necessity  of  making 
repairs  in  a  new  silo  is  not  only  aggravating  but  it  is 
expensive,  if  thoroughly  done. 

155 


156  SILOS 

There  are  other  features  of  silo  building  which  deserve 
consideration  in  order  to  prevent  early  damage.  In  brick 
construction  there  is  danger  of  rushing  the  work  too  fast 
to  allow  for  settling.  A  small  affair  like  a  silo  goes  up 
quickly  with  two  or  three  skillful  men  on  the  job,  and  the 
walls  will  settle  perceptibly  for  days  after  the  job  is  com- 
pleted. This  rapid  construction  should  not  be  allowed. 
There  is  little  of  this  kind  of  danger  in  building  walls  for 
a  large  house  or  store. 

The  quality  of  the  brick  is  worth  mentioning  also.  A 
number  of  cases  are  known  where  brick  plants  were 
started  up  in  a  convenient  place  to  supply  the  commodity 
in  a  hurry  to  a  few  transient  customers.  When  it  was  too 
late,  it  was  found  that  there  was  considerable  lime  in  the 
clay,  as  a  result  of  which  the  wall  cracked  in  a  short  time, 
and  much  loss  followed.  It  is  economy  to  use  brick  of  a 
high  grade. 

Those  building  wooden  silos  need  to  look  well  to  the 
foundations  also.  Where  it  can  be  done  without  incon- 
venience, the  silo  should  be  placed  south  or  east  of  the 
barn,  to  lessen  the  danger  from  wind.  It  is  possible  to 
anchor  one  of  these  lighter  structures  with  three  or  four 
iron  rods.  Such  an  addition  to  the  expense  of  construc- 
tion is  not  more  than  $10  or  $15,  and  it  may  save  the  silo 
from  destruction  in  case  of  a  heavy  storm.  No  invest- 
ment on  the  farm  makes  bigger  returns  than  that  em- 
ployed in  providing  a  good  silo,  but  without  proper 
construction  money  is  wasted  instead  of  being  gained. 

For  the  past  fifteen  years,  practically  all  silos  built  have 
been  round  in  shape,  and  this  is  the  only  style  to  be  rec- 
ommended at  present.  The  essential  things  in  silo  con- 
struction are  to  have  an  air-tight  wall,  smooth  on  the 
inside  so  the  silage  can  settle  properly,  and  a  structure 
sufficiently  strong  to  hold  the  enormous  pressure  of  the 
silage,  and  durable  enough  so  that  it  will  not  be  necessary 
to  replace  it  for  some  time.     Successful  silos  have  been 


SILOS  157 

built  in  a  variety  of  ways  and  of  a  variety  of  materials, 
including  wooden  staves,  concrete,  wood  plastered  with 
cement,  stone,  wood,  brick,  iron  and  tile.  It  is  not  the 
purpose  in  this  article  to  give  details  for  construction  of 
silos,  but  rather  to  give  information  regarding  the  sub- 
ject in  general  and  the  advantages  of  the  first  three  types 
mentioned. 

The  most  common  silo  found  in  America  is  that  known 
as  the  stave  silo.  This  is  built  on  the  plan  of  a  stave 
water  tank.  It  is  purchased  ready  to  put  together,  requir- 
ing only  that  the  foundation  be  made.  A  foundation  is 
built  of  concrete.  The  walls  should  be  about  eight  inches 
thick.  A  stave  silo  16x32  feet  will  cost  about  $300.  The 
foundation  is  not  included  in  this  estimate.  The  cost  of 
a  concrete  block  or  solid  wall  silo  of  the  size  given  is 
from  $300  to  $500. 

The  concrete  silo  may  be  built  of  blocks  or  with  solid 

walls.     The  latter  is  sometimes  called  monolithic.     The 

kind  most  to  be  recommended  is  the  solid  wall  structure. 

The  advantages  of  a  concrete  silo  are  that  when  once 

properly  built  it  is  a  permanent  structure,  and   is  not 

damaged  by  fire  or  wind,  or  from  drying  out.     It  does 

not  preserve  the  silage  any  better  than  does  one  with  a 

wall  of  wood.    On  the  other  hand,  if  the  concrete  wall  is 

properly  constructed,  so  that  the  air  is  kept  out,  the  silage 

will  be  preserved  in  perfect  condition.     The  objections 

that  are  often  raised  to  the  concrete  silo,  especially  by 

those  interested  in  the  sale  of  the  stave  silo,  are  that  it 

will  crack  and  fall  down,  and,  furthermore,  that  it  will 

not  preserve  the  silage.    It  is  quite  true  that  both  these 

conditions  have  been  met  with  in  many  cases.     If  the 

structure  is  properly  reinforced,  there  is  not  the  least 

danger  of  it  cracking  or  falling  down.     If  the  walls  are 

made  of  a  mixture  containing  sufficient  cement,  so  that 

the  wall  is  not  too  porous,  the  silage  does  not  spoil.     It 

requires  some  skill  to  properly  build  a  concrete  silo.     A 


158  SILOS 

farmer  who  has  had  no  experience  in  concrete  work 
should  secure  the  assistance  of  some  one  who  has  had 
such  experience  before  attempting  to  build  a  concrete 
silo.  Cement  blocks  may  be  bought  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  they  enable  a  farmer  to  put  up  a  silo  in  a 
few  days,  at  moderate  cost. 

The  two  things  to  be  especially  regarded  in  building  the 
concrete  silo  are  to  have  an  abundance  of  iron  for  rein- 
forcement and  sufficient  cement  in  the  mixture  to  make 
the  walls  impervious  to  air.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  go  over 
the  inside  wall  of  a  concrete  silo  each  year,  or  at  least 
every  second  year,  before  filling  with  a  mixture  of  cement 
and  water.  The  mixture  should  be  about  the  consistency 
of  whitewash.  This  helps  to  close  up  the  pores  of  the 
wall  and  to  exclude  the  air.  If  a  concrete  silo  stands 
empty  during  the  summer,  the  walls  become  very  dry. 
When  the  moist  silage  is  put  in,  the  walls  absorb  the 
moisture  from  the  silage.  This  may  result  in  white 
mould  forming  near  the  outer  edge.  This  condition, 
when  present,  indicates  that  the  concrete  has  been  made 
too  porous.  The  trouble  may  be  avoided,  in  case  the  wall 
has  been  made  too  porous,  by  applying  the  cement  and 
water  mixture  as  described.  It  is  also  well,  where  the 
concrete  has  been  made  too  porous,  to  wet  the  walls  with 
water  as  the  silage  is  put  in,  to  prevent  the  absorption  of 
water  from  the  silage. 

The  forms  for  building  a  concrete  silo  cost  about  $50. 
It  is  desirable  for  a  number  of  farmers  to  club  together 
and  build  the  forms.  One  set  of  forms  may  be  used  for 
several  silos,  and  in  this  way  the  cost  of  construction  can 
be  reduced. 


Chance  for  Big  Profits  in  Novelties 

With  a  keen  market  demand  for  vegetables  and  fruit, 
farmers  have  a  chance  to  secure  far  larger  profits  than 
they  can  gain  from  grain  growing  or  dairying. 

Mixed  agriculture  is  the  need  of  the  times,  with  smaller 
farms  and  better  cultivation.  There  should  be  the  great- 
est possible  range  of  production  when  markets  are  easily 
reached.  Farmers  and  their  sons  and  daughters  should 
aim  to  produce  novelties,  or  at  least  articles  which  are 
not  commonly  understood  by  landowners,  and  for  which 
good  prices  are  paid. 

A  few  gardeners  make  a  large  profit  from  salsify,  some- 
times called  vegetable  oyster.  This  is  one  of  the 
neglected  products  for  which  there  is  a  quick  sale.  Many 
prefer  it  to  the  oyster,  whose  flavor  it  has  a  hint  of,  with 
all  the  disagreeable  features  of  the  bivalve  flavor  left  out. 

It  can  be  cooked  in  many  ways.  As  a  soup,  served  with 
bread  or  crackers,  it  is  delicious.  Fried,  either  by  itself 
or  in  a  batter,  it  is  quite  as  appetizing  as  the  real  oyster 
when  cooked  in  that  way. 

Boiled,  sliced  lengthwise  when  tender,  and  fried  in  but- 
ter, like  the  parsnip,  it  soon  becomes  a  favorite. 

Especially  is  salsify  a  valuable  addition  to  our  some- 
what limited  list  of  winter  vegetables,  because  it  can  be 
dug  in  the  fall  and  stored  in  the  cellar,  or  it  can  be  left 
in  the  ground  over  winter  and  dug  in  the  spring,  when 
it  will  be  found  deliciously  fresh  and  of  fine  flavor. 

The  culture  of  this  plant  is  of  the  simplest.  It  likes  a 
rich  garden  loam,  made  mellow  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  and 
a  half.     Sow  it  in  rows  for  convenience  in  cultivating, 

159 


160  CHANCE  FOR  BIG  PROFITS 

and  keep  down  the  weeds.  If  the  seedlings  stand  too 
thick  in  the  rows,  thin  them  out  so  that  the  plants  will  be 
at  least  two  inches  apart.    Sow  early  in  the  season. 

Watch  the  catalogues  of  reliable  seed  houses  for  nov- 
elties. The  Trophy  marked  a  new  era  in  tomatoes,  and 
was  really  the  first  with  smooth  exterior  and  solid  inside. 
We  had  had  smooth  tomatoes  before,  but  they  had  big 
seed  hollows  inside,  and  all  that  we  had  with  solid  meat 
were  very  rough,  like  the  mammoth  Chihuahua. 

But  the  production  of  the  Trophy  was  a  success, 
because  it  put  this  solid  tomato  inside  a  smooth  skin,  and 
ever  since  it  has  been  the  effort  of  breeders  to  keep  it 
there.  The  best  efforts  of  the  breeders  should  now  be 
devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  the  earliness  of  the  extra 
early  sorts,  with  increased  smoothness.  This  has  been 
attained  in  the  Earliana,  Globe,  Success  and  others. 

Then  there  are  the  cucumbers,  of  which  every  seeds- 
man has  his  special  strain.  Of  these  I  have  found  that 
there  is  nothing  better  than  the  combination  of  the  White 
Spine  and  Long  Green,  known  as  the  Davis  Perfect.  It 
is  longer  and  slimmer  than  the  White  Spine,  and  earlier 
than  the  Long  Green,  and  in  my  opinion  deserves  its 
name. 

Never  follow  the  fall  crop  of  lettuce  with  lettuce,  for 
it  is  sure  to  be  attacked  by  the  wilt.  This  crop  needs  a 
change  of  soil  as  often  as  possible.  It  is  easy  to  raise  let- 
tuce in  the  winter  in  a  room  that  has  an  even  and  moder- 
ate temperature.  This  is  better  than  midsummer  lettuce 
and  sells  at  fancy  figures.  Lettuce  is  raised  with  least 
trouble  in  spring  and  fall. 

When  soil  can  be  worked  in  the  spring,  lettuce,  rad- 
ishes, onions  and  peas  should  be  planted  in  the  open  gar- 
den. All  of  these  can  stand  considerable  frost.  It  is 
well  to  put  in  some  early  potatoes.  The  early  vegetables 
bring  big  profits. 

The  Logan  berry,  a  hybrid  of  the  blackberry  and  rasp- 


CHANCE  FOR  BIG  PROFITS  161 

berry,  is  getting  a  start.  This  fruit  is  originated  by 
Judge  Logan,  of  Santa  Cruz,  Cal.  It  is  proving  to  be  the 
easiest  and  best  producing  berry  that  can  be  grown  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  It  is  especially  free  from  disease,  is  a  rank 
grower,  and  yields  enormously.  It  is  steadily  gaining  in 
favor  with  the  lady  experts  of  cooking.  It  is  especially 
adapted  for  pie  cooking  and  jam.  It  is  one  of  the  many 
twentieth-century  agricultural  achievements. 

Many  products  now  generally  overlooked  can  be  turned 
into  cash.  Seven  children  in  one  family  in  Areola,  111., 
made  $300  one  winter  peeling  broomcorn  stalks  and  sell- 
ing the  pith  to  warehouses,  there  to  be  shipped  to  jewelers 
and  watch  factories.  It  is  used  by  them  for  cleaning 
their  wares.  It  contains  no  grit  nor  hard  fiber,  and  will 
absorb  oil  or  dirt  without  danger  of  scratching.  Quite 
a  number  of  the  women  and  children  around  Areola 
make  some  money  on  the  side  this  way  every  winter. 

After  the  crop  is  harvested,  the  women  and  children 
gather  armfuls  of  the  stalks  and  pile  them  up  back  of 
the  house  to  dry.  Then,  during  the  evenings  or  on  rainy 
days,  they  peel  one  joint  at  a  time  and  take  out  the  clean, 
white  pith.  This  is  made  up  into  round  bundles,  holding 
two  or  three  pounds  each,  but  nearly  as  large  as  a  wash- 
tub.  The  price  received  is  25  cents  a  pound.  There  is  not 
a  large  or  unlimited  demand  for  this  material,  but  it  pays 
quite  a  few  dollars  each  wTinter  into  the  pockets  of  the 
Areola  people. 

The  dasheen,  like  the  potato,  is  a  native  of  South 
America,  but  is  not  a  member  of  the  botanical  group  of 
plants  to  which  the  potato,  tomato,  eggplant  and  pepper 
belong.  It  is  closely  related  to  the  tanier  of  the  southern 
United  States  and  the  taro  of  Hawaii. 

It  is  said  that  dasheens  are  even  more  nourishing  than 
the  potato.  In  flavor  they  suggest  boiled  chestnuts.  At  the 
recent  annual  banquet  of  the  National  Geographical 
Society,   their   edible   qualities   were   thoroughly   tested. 


162  CHANCE  FOR  BIG  PROFITS 

They  have  also  received  a  favorable  report  of  the  house 
committee  of  a  well-known  New  York  club.  It  is  de- 
clared that  half  an  acre  in  Florida  yielded  225  bushels  of 
dasheens,  which  were  richer  in  flavor  than  baked 
potatoes. 

The  woman  who  does  not  raise  her  own  strawberries 
is  losing  a  lot  of  pleasure,  for  they  grow  so  rapidly  and 
so  luxuriantly,  as  if  they  thought  to  be  allowed  to  live 
were  a  grand  privilege,  and  it  is  rare  sport  to  watch 
them. 

Sauerkraut  is  easily  made  on  the  farm,  and  pays  well. 
There  are  two  essentials  which  must  be  observed  in  mak- 
ing sauerkraut :  First,  it  must  be  remembered  that  if  too 
much  salt  is  used,  the  kraut  will  not  sour  as  it  should, 
and  the  quality  will  be  impaired. 

Again,  some  salt  must  be  used  in  order  to  preserve  the 
cabbage  till  it  sours  sufficiently  to  preserve  itself.  When 
kraut  gets  sour,  it  is  like  pickles,  and  there  will  be  no 
further  decay. 

To  make  the  best  kraut,  a  slicer  should  be  used,  though 
it  may  be  sliced  with  a  knife,  coarse,  or  fine,  as  suits  your 
taste. 

Use  a  clean  barrel  or  jar,  put  in  a  layer  of  cabbage,  cut 
fine,  then  a  little  salt,  using  not  more  than  a  quart  of  salt 
to  a  40-gallon  barrel  of  kraut. 

If  you  like  the  flavor,  add  a  little  dill  seed  or  caraway. 
When  the  vessel  is  full,  fit  a  clean  board  inside,  and 
weight  with  a  clean  stone,  never  a  piece  of  iron. 

If  your  cabbage  is  early,  and  going  to  waste  while  it  is 
yet  warm,  make  the  kraut  and  keep  in  a  cool  cellar. 

This  early  kraut  will  rot  a  little  on  top.  Remove  this 
every  few  days,  and  wash  off  the  inside  of  the  barrel  and 
weight  with  warm  water,  to  remove  the  germs  of  decay. 

Weeds,  herbs  and  roots  have  a  market  value  that  is 
surprising  to  persons  who  do  not  happen  to  have  informa- 
tion on  the  subject.    Wholesale  drug  houses  quite  gener- 


CHANCE  FOR  BIG  PROFITS  163 

ally  buy  these  things,  and  any  local  druggist  is  able  to 
give  the  address  of  a  reliable  firm  to  whom  such  plants 
may  be  sent.    The  following  prices  per  pound  are  quoted : 

Cents 

Bayberry  bark 4 

Beeswax,  prime  yellow 29 

Black  haw  bark  of  root 12 

Bloodroot    6 

Cherry  bark,   thin 7 

Clover  tops   (red) 5^2 

Cohosh  root  (black) 2T/2 

Culvers  or  black  root 8  J/2 

Elm  bark,  select  slabs 12 

Ginseng  root $3  to  $5 

Goldenseal  root    $4 

Honey,  pure  Sp.  Needle 7 

Ladyslipper   18 

May  apple  root AZA 

Pink  root 25 

Poke  root    4 

Prickly  ash  bark,  Northern 15 

Sassafras  bark  of  root 10^2 

Senega,  Northern 45 

Snakeroot  button   

Snakeroot,  Texas    (Serpentaria) 25 

Spikenard  root  12 

Wahoo  bark  of  root 30 

White  pine  bark 3/^ 

White  poplar  bark 

Wild  ginger 12 

Yellow  dock  root 3/^ 

Full  directions  as  to  how  to  cure  medicinal  plants  and 
prepare  them  for  market  will  be  sent  by  the  purchasers 
of  herbs  to  any  person  seeking  the  information. 


Pin  Money  in  Pickles 

Pickles  come  only  partly  by  nature — they  are  born  of 
work  and  worry.  But  they  fetch  in  money — if  the  work 
and  worry  are  properly  expended.  Notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  the  professional  pickle  growers,  there  is  every 
season  more  and  more  room  for  the  non-professional.  If 
the  non-professional  is  a  woman  with  a  knack  of  season- 
ing and  a  dozen  or  so  time-honored  and  individual  familv 
recipes,  she  may  treble  her  profits  by  herself  putting  up 
the  yield  of  the  pickle  garden.  If  she  lacks  time  or 
strength  or  skill  or  facilities  for  that,  she  can  at  least  put 
the  pickles  in  brine  or  sell  them  fresh-cut  to  her  neigh- 
bors, the  handy  huckster  or  her  nearest  grocer. 

In  planning  a  pickle  garden,  first  look  over  your 
ground — this  literally  and  metaphorically.  The  literal 
side  has  to  do  with  site  and  soil ;  the  metaphorical  one 
concerns  the  possible  demand  for  the  supply  to  be  created 
or  the  possibilities  of  creating  a  new  demand  for  some- 
thing different.  Pickles  worth  eating  are  worth  also  a 
fair  price.  Resolve  to  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less. 
Take  account  here  of  individual  taste.  Hearty  laborers 
relish  big  salt  green  cucumbers,  but  sniff  disdain  of  fancy 
relishes  and  unwonted  tangs  or  mixed  flavors,  such  as  the 
mangoes  and  picalilli,  whose  appeal  to  educated  palates  is 
irresistible. 

If  the  soil  of  the  pickle  garden  is  thin,  it  had  better  be 
devoted  to  cucumbers.  The  long  green  variety  is  best ;  it 
can  be  cut  at  little-finger  length,  or  left  until  almost  full 
grown,  and  still  be  marketable.  Have  the  ground  made 
light  and  fine. 

164 


PIN  MONEY  IN  PICKLES  165 

Keep  the  hills  light  and  clean,  also  the  whole  space 
between  them.  Plows  can  run  between  the  hills  until 
the  vines  begin  to  spread.  Once  they  fairly  cover  the 
earth,  what  grass  comes  up  will  not  hurt  them.  Rooted 
in  the  rich  hills,  they  can  easily  give  odds  to  anything 
growing  in  poor  soil.  When  plowing  is  no  longer  pos- 
sible, a  little  hoe  work  and  hand-weeding  may  be  in  order, 
but  take  care  neither  to  bruise  the  vines  nor  to  throw 
loose  dirt  upon  the  leaves,  especially  while  the  dew  is  on. 

Unless  there  is  a  ready  market  close  at  hand,  get  the 
brine  barrel  ready  as  soon  as  the  first  flowers  appear.  It 
must  be  clean  and  sweet  before  the  brine  goes  in — old 
pork  and  fish  barrels  always  taint  their  later  contents. 
Empty  whisky  barrels  or  molasses  barrels  do  excellently, 
but  should  be  well  painted  outside  with  red  lead,  to  pre- 
vent the  ravages  of  wood  worms.  Make  the  brine  of  soft 
water  and  clean  salt,  strong  enough  to  float  an  egg.  A 
little  brown  sugar  or  molasses  improves  the  keeping  qual- 
ity. Bring  it  to  a  boil,  and  skim  clean  after  everything 
is  dissolved.  Pour  it  into  the  barrel  boiling  hot,  let  stand 
a  day,  and  skim  again  before  putting  in  pickles. 

The  net  result  is  very  nearly  the  same  whether  the 
pickles  are  cut  small  or  at  full  growth.  Decide  in  the 
beginning  which  size  it  shall  be,  and  stick  to  the  decision. 
Cut  the  pickles  every  morning,  while  the  dew  is  on — 
thus  they  are  plump  and  cool,  in  the  best  condition  for 
keeping.  Use  very  sharp  shears  for  clipping,  and  take 
care  to  leave  the  least  bit  of  stalk  to  each  pickle,  but 
never  to  wound,  bruise  or  break  the  vine.  If  by  accident 
a  vine  is  bruised  or  torn,  cut  it  off  remorselessly,  so  it 
shall  not  decay  and  set  up  disease  in  the  whole  plant. 
Be  careful  of  bruising  the  pickles.  In  washing,  use 
plenty  of  water,  and  drain  them  well  before  putting  them 
into  the  brine.  Keep  a  weighted  wooden  cover  floating 
on  top  of  the  brine,  thus  insuring  that  the  pickles  shall 
stay  covered.    Put  only  one  sort  and  size  of  pickle  into  a 


166  PIN  MONEY  IN  PICKLES 

vessel.  If  saving  various  sorts,  use  brine  crocks  instead 
of  a  barrel,  thus  making  separation  easy. 

Gherkins,  or  prickly  cucumbers,  are  grown  in  the  same 
way,  and  yield  enormously.  The  vines  are  hardier  than 
those  of  the  cucumber,  will  endure  more  handling,  and 
bear  a  third  more  fruit.  They  need  to  be  carefully 
watched,  as  old  gherkins  are  hard  and  tough.  In  cutting 
them,  snip  about  half  way  the  long  fruit  stalk.  Never 
lift  a  vine  of  anything  from  the  ground  in  cutting.  No 
matter  how  carefully  the  lifting  is  done,  the  laying  down 
disturbs  tendrils  and  fibers. 

String  beans  make  excellent  pickles.  Plant  and  tend 
as  though  for  boiling,  pick  when  the  beans  are  just  fairly 
forming,  wash  and  put  in  brine.  The  curious  plant  known 
as  the  Martynia  bears  seed  pods  well  worth  pickling.  So 
does  the  nasturtium,  if  given  a  cool,  moist,  very  rich 
place  to  grow.  Both  make  excellent  substitutes  for 
capers.  They  are  not,  however,  very  well  worth  while 
commercially,  unless  one  puts  up  pickles  one's  self  for  a 
special  trade. 

Green  peppers  are  fine  for  pickling,  especially  in  man- 
goes. Use  the  big  bullnose  sort,  and  clip  the  pods  with 
longish  stalks  just  as  they  are  on  the  point  of  turning  red. 
Muskmelons,  both  long  and  round,  can  be  pickled  at  all 
stages,  from  the  size  of  an  egg  to  the  edge  of  ripeness. 
When  full  grown,  it  is  best  to  cut  out  a  segment  and 
scrape  away  the  seed  before  putting  them  in  brine.  If 
they  are  meant  for  mango-making,  tie  in  the  cut  piece 
with  a  soft  string,  and  pack  them  well  down  toward  the 
bottom  of  the  barrel  or  crock. 

Do  not  plant  muskmelons,  cucumbers  and  gherkins  side 
by  side  in  a  pickle  garden — bees  will  carry  pollen  back 
and  forth,  tainting  each  with  the  blood  of  the  other. 
With  space  for  all  three,  keep  them  apart,  planting  them 
at  opposite  edges  of  the  garden,  with  beans  or  cabbage 
or  cauliflower  in  between.     Cauliflower  in  itself  is  an 


PIN  MONEY  IN  PICKLES  167 

excellent  pickle.  It  can  be  put  in  brine  the  same  as  any- 
thing else.  Very  young  corn,  with  grain  unfilled,  makes 
a  pickle  much  relished  by  not  a  few  epicures. 

There  is  good  money  in  freshly  cut  cucumbers  at  50 
cents  a  peck.  This  is  for  the  big  fellows.  Very  small 
ones,  adapted  to  fine  work,  should  be  worth  three  times 
as  much,  and  the  intermediate  sizes,  a  finger  length  and 
under,  75  cents  to  $1  the  peck.  In  brine,  pickles  are 
commonly  sold  in  bulk.  Barrel  prices  vary  tremen- 
dously according  to  the  season,  but  are  seldom  low 
enough  to  prevent  a  fair  margin  of  profit. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  about  the  opportunity  for 
profit  in  growing  cauliflowers.  The  market  desires  snowy 
white  heads,  so  that  protection  is  universally  practiced  to 
accomplish  this  purpose.  Three  methods  are  used :  ( 1 ) 
the  breaking  of  half  a  dozen  or  more  leaves  over  the  top 
of  the  cauliflower  head.  The  stems  of  the  leaves  are  not 
severed  entirely,  so  that  the  leaves  remain  green.  (2) 
Breaking  or  bending  over  the  leaves  as  just  explained, 
and  pinning  with  toothpicks  or  small  pins.  This  is  a  very 
satisfactory  method  for  all  sections.  (3)  Bringing  the 
leaves  together  over  the  head  and  tying.  This  is  an  ex- 
cellent plan,  but  requires  more  time  than  securing  with 
the  toothpicks.  The  protection  should  begin  when  the 
heads  are  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  Cauli- 
flower is  considered  a  delicacy  on  most  tables,  and  it 
pays  to  exercise  special  care  in  the  marketing.  Although 
barrels  are  often  used,  crates  or  baskets  are  better.  A 
package  which  will  not  hold  more  than  a  dozen  or,  at 
most,  two  dozen  heads,  certainly  has  an  advantage  over 
the  barrels. 


The  Lowly  Onion  a  Profitable  Crop 

Onions  are  to  be  classed  among  the  surest  and  most 
profitable  of  crops.  There  is  a  constant  demand  for 
them  at  prices  which  give  a  return  of  $200  to  $400  an 
acre.  It  is  a  product  that  the  beginner  need  not  fear  to 
experiment  with  to  the  extent  of  several  acres. 

Seed  onions  are  of  better  flavor  and  keep  longer  and 
are  more  profitable  to  grow  than  sets,  though  some  fail  to 
grow  them  in  the  home  garden  because  they  are  more 
difficult  to  keep  clear  of  weeds. 

The  best  way  to  grow  onions  from  seed  is  by  sowing 
the  seed  in  a  bed  or  cold  frame  early  in  the  season  and 
transplanting  later  to  the  row  where  they  are  to  grow. 
A  small  section  of  the  hotbed  will  grow  1,000  plants  till 
they  are  the  size  of  quills,  or  they  can  be  crowded.  By 
that  time  the  ground  will  be  warm,  and  all  seed  will  have 
germinated  so  that  the  plants  may  be  set  in  clean  ground 
that  has  been  worked  over  to  kill  all  the  young  weeds. 

If  one  lacks  for  room  in  the  hotbed,  the  seed  may  be 
sown  in  a  sheltered  place — an  old  brush  heap,  ash  bed,  or 
some  place  where  the  soil  is  good.  If  there  is  room  to 
sow  the  seed  in  drills  six  inches  apart,  they  may  be 
worked  some  to  keep  them  growing  before  they  are 
transplanted. 

When  ready  to  transplant  them,  wet  the  ground  and 
pull  the  plants  and  then  cut  off  about  half  the  top  and 
slightly  tip  the  roots.  Set  the  plants  from  two  to  three 
inches  apart  in  the  row  and  in  rows  fifteen  inches  apart. 
If  very  dry,  use  water  when  transplanting,  and  every  one 
will  live. 

168 


LOWLY  ONION  A  PROFITABLE  CROP  169 

If  the  soil  has  been  well  fertilized  with  stable  manure 
or  poultry  droppings,  and  worked  over  several  times 
before  the  onions  are  transplanted  to  the  rows,  there  will 
be  but  few  weeds  to  contend  with,  and  the  plants  will  not 
be  checked  in  growth. 

Onions  should  follow  potatoes,  beans  or  corn.  The 
land  should  be  well  plowed  in  the  autumn,  disked  and 
harrowed  in  the  spring,  until  it  is  as  fine  as  garden  soil. 

Always  manure  heavily  before  breaking  up  the  land  in 
the  fall.  On  new  land,  cowpeas  are  excellent  for  bringing 
the  land  into  shape. 

Onions  should  be  grown  under  a  system  of  crop  rota- 
tion, but  the  crops  used  in  the  rotation  must  be  those  that 
will  not  exhaust  the  high  fertility  necessary  to  onions. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  in  onion  culture  is 
to  mix  the  fertilizer  with  the  soil.  On  land  that  is  not 
thoroughly  drained,  plow  in  beds,  leaving  a  double  furrow 
between  the  beds  to  carry  off  surplus  water. 

The  disk  harrow  puts  the  land  in  fine  condition  after 
it  has  been  thoroughly  plowed  in  the  fall.  Never  use 
manure,  except  that  which  is  well  rotted.  Bermuda  onion 
growers  use  as  high  as  twenty  tons  of  sheep  and  goat 
manure  per  acre  every  three  years.  Often,  in  addition  to 
this,  they  use  1,000  to  2,000  pounds  of  cottonseed  meal, 
and  sometimes  a  top  dressing  of  nitrate  of  soda. 

Seed  is  sown  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible,  but 
never  before  the  land  is  in  the  best  possible  condition. 
Seed  may  be  sown  by  hand  drills  in  rows  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  inches  apart.  Where  horse  culture  is  employed, 
the  distance  should  be  at  least  two  feet.  It  requires  about 
four  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  where  it  is  drilled  fourteen 
inches  apart. 

As  soon  as  the  plants  are  growing  well,  the  cultivator 
should  be  started  and  kept  going  in  order  to  keep  the  soil 
in  good  condition  and  to  prevent  weeds. 

A   great  deal   of  the  art   in   securing  a   large  yield 


170  LOWLY  ONION  A  PROFITABLE  CROP 

depends  upon  the  quality  of  the  seed.  It  has  been  found 
in  some  districts  that  home-grown  seed  from  selected 
bulbs  is  to  be  preferred  to  seed  secured  from  seedsmen  or 
from  foreign  markets. 

Cultivation  should  be  more  or  less  continuous  from  the 
time  the  plants  show  above  ground  until  the  crop  matures. 
Some  growers  make  a  practice  of  cultivating  the  land 
once  each  week.  This  cultivation  should  be  with  either 
a  wheel  hoe  or  the  so-called  hand  cultivator.  The  onion 
is  a  more  or  less  shallow  feeder,  so  that  cultivation  should 
only  be  to  a  depth  of  from  an  inch  and  a  half  to  two 
inches.  From  two  to  three  hand  weedings  are  usually 
necessary.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  certain  amount  of 
thinning  would  be  advisable. 

The  yields  obtained  on  the  soils  that  are  adapted  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  onion  are  from  250  to  450  bushels  per 
acre. 

From  five  to  eight  acres  is  all  that  one  farmer  should 
expect  to  care  for  during  the  season. 

Many  gardeners  do  not  properly  estimate  the  advan- 
tage of  thinning  their  crops.  If  this  plan  were  strictly  ad- 
hered to,  the  yield  would  be  increased  and  the  quality 
greatly  improved. 


Give  More  Attention  to  Fruit 

There  should  be  a  more  general  production  of  fruit  in 
the  central  states.  This  can  be  made  one  of  the  best 
features  of  mixed  farming.  Market  advantages  in  the 
middle  states,  surrounding  the  larger  cities,  exceed  those 
of  the  newer  western  states  and  climatic  difficulties  are 
much  the  same  in  one  section  as  another.  Apples,  pears, 
cherries,  plums  and  berries  give  a  larger  profit  per  acre 
than  almost  any  other  farm  product. 

Experts  state  that  more  money  can  be  made  per  acre 
from  apples  and  cherries  in  the  central  states  than  in  the 
mountainous  sections  farther  west.  The  older  states  are 
far  ahead  in  market  advantages  and  are  practically  equal 
in  soil  and  climate. 

Horticulture  has  been  pushed  aside  by  the  dairy  inter- 
est in  some  of  the  middle  states.  This  is  a  mistaken 
policy  which  should  be  changed.  The  great  cash  markets 
and  cheap  and  convenient  transportation  ought  to  mean 
more  than  they  do  to  those  farmers  who  are  devoting 
their  energies  to  a  single  interest.  They  enable  land 
owners  to  diversify  their  crops  and  place  their  affairs  on 
a  business  basis. 

The  stories  of  orchard  possibilities  in  the  lake  region 
are  not  imaginary.  Some  of  the  big  successes  in  horti- 
culture have  been  achieved  around  Lake  Superior,  where 
climate  and  soil  are  thought  to  be  less  favorable  than  in 
localities  farther  south. 

There  are  many  localities  where  orchards  exist,  but 
where  fruit  production  is  not  equal  to  the  home  consump- 
tion.   Farmers  owe  it  to  themselves,  to  change  this  condi- 

171 


172  GIVE  MORE  ATTENTION  TO  FRUIT 

tion  and  make  their  orchards  a  source  of  pleasure  and 
profit.    A  little  intelligent  care  will  enable  them  to  do  so. 

It  is  the  tendency  of  large  farmers  everywhere  who 
have  their  minds  given  up  to  grain  or  dairying  to  over- 
look such  matters  as  spraying  their  orchards,  pruning, 
mulching,  etc.  The  small  land  owner  does  better  with  his 
fruit. 

About  sixty  trees  to  the  acre  are  sufficient.  They 
should  be  purchased  from  the  nurseries  when  one  or  two 
years  old  and  placed  in  even  rows  on  land  that  has  been 
thoroughly  fitted  for  the  purpose.  Any  fair  quality  of 
loam  will  answer  the  requirements  of  an  orchard,  but, 
if  possible,  the  owner  should  select  a  piece  of  land  that 
has  a  clay  subsoil,  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  below  the  sur- 
face. He  should  avoid  gravelly  land,  because  it  does  not 
permit  tree  roots  to  obtain  sufficient  hold,  and  it  carries 
off  the  water  too  closely.  It  is  necessary  to  plow  in  plenty 
of  barnyard  fertilizer  and  cultivate  thoroughly  before 
planting. 

It  is  feasible  to  use  the  orchard  either  for  gardening  or 
the  growing  of  common  leguminous  crops.  This  makes 
the  land  pay  something  while  the  trees  are  maturing,  and 
is  good  for  the  soil.  The  rows  of  trees  should  be  far 
enough  apart  so  that  a  team  with  plow  or  harrow  may  be 
used. 

Therefore  it  is  worth  while  in  localities  where  horticul- 
ture is  not  flourishing  to  make  a  more  thorough  test  of 
methods  for  guarding  the  fruit  crop  than  has  been  made 
by  farmers  generally.  Twice  in  ten  years,  in  some 
regions,  owners  of  orchards  have  lost  apple  and  cherry 
crops  by  freezing  weather  late  in  the  spring.  This  is  one 
crop  in  five  lost  through  unfavorable  climatic  conditions, 
and  it  would  be  discouraging  but  for  the  facts  that  four 
successful  crops  in  five  years  make  fruit  highly  profitable, 
and  that  such  losses  are,  to  a  great  extent,  preventable. 

The  practical  farmer  will  take  steps  to  see  that  his  trees 


GIVE  MORE  ATTENTION  TO  FRUIT  173 

are  not  frosted  while  budding.  A  cheap  oil  heater  is 
made  for  this  work.  The  total  expense  of  providing 
heaters  for  an  orchard  of  ten  acres  would  not  exceed 
$300.  They  would  not  be  used  more  than  two  or  three 
nights  in  the  year,  and  therefore  the  outlay  for  oil  would 
be  trifling. 

Another  excellent  plan  that  I  have  tried  is  to  raise  the 
temperature  on  a  cold  night  with  smudge  fires.  This 
is  only  necessary  when  a  freeze  sets  in  after  the  trees 
have  shown  their  blossoms.  A  little  ridge  of  dry  manure 
or  rubbish  should  be  placed  around  the  orchard,  or  at 
least  on  the  windward  side,  with  possibly  a  line  or  two 
of  it  through  the  center,  in  case  of  a  sharp  frost.  The 
material  to  be  burned  is  to  be  almost  covered  with  dirt, 
in  order  to  make  a  slow  flame.  In  the  evening,  if  it  looks 
like  a  frosty  night,  start  the  fires  and  keep  the  tempera- 
ture up  to  the  point  of  safety.  This  may  be  a  sort  of 
mean  job  for  a  night  or  two,  but  the  result  will  justify 
the  effort — and  it  is  a  job  that  may  not  have  to  be  per- 
formed more  than  once  in  five  years.  Keep  a  thermome- 
ter in  the  orchard. 

Frost  is  so  apt  to  come  during  the  budding  period,  that 
farmers  and  orchardists  have  a  keen  appreciation  of  the 
danger  which  confronts  them,  and  yet  few  have  any 
definite  method  of  guarding  their  interests  in  this  par- 
ticular. Thousands  of  neglected  and  worthless  orchards 
in  the  middle  west,  particularly  in  the  lake  regions,  show 
that  owners  have  become  discouraged  through  periodical 
losses.  When  we  consider  that  an  acre  of  fruit  is  worth 
from  $200  to  $400,  the  trouble  of  keeping  up  a  few  little 
fires  around  the  orchard  for  six  or  eight  hours  seems 
trifling. 

Spraying  the  trees  in  October  and  during  the  budding 
period  in  the  spring  is  necessary  to  keep  the  orchard  free 
of  insect  pests,  which  are  ruinous  if  allowed  to  work. 
Pruning  is  another  essential  to  give  the  trees  uniformity 


174  GIVE  MORE  ATTENTION  TO  FRUIT 

and  to  prevent  them  getting  too  much  height  or  develop- 
ing abnormal  growths. 

In  many  cases  it  will  be  found  that  the  old  trees  have 
exhausted  practically  all  the  available  nutritive  material 
contained  in  the  soil,  and  they  need  considerable  nitrogen 
in  order  to  produce  new  wood  and  to  put  new  vigor  into 
them,  and  therefore  they  will  stand  lots  of  stable  manure. 
But  if  they  were  young,  bearing  trees  in  their  prime  they 
would  need  only  a  light  dressing  of  manure. 

While  the  actual  fertilizing  material  contained  in  a  ton 
of  average  stable  manure  is  small,  not  much  above 
twenty-eight  pounds,  if  lime  is  not  considered,  it  is  a 
great  humus  producer.  Humus  adds  lots  of  moisture, 
and  humus  and  moisture  working  together  release  the 
nutritive  material  already  in  the  soil  and  put  it  in  shape 
so  that  those  little  hungry  feed  roots  can  gather  it  in  and 
send  it  on  its  mission  of  supplying  leaf,  bud  and  branch 
with  life  and  vigor. 

If  one  should  want  quicker  and  better  results  than  just 
stable  manure  alone  will  give,  phosphate  rock,  ground 
bone  and  potash  may  be  added  in  the  proportion  of  ioo 
pounds  of  phosphate,  200  pounds  of  ground  bone  and  100 
pounds  of  potash,  but  the  user  will  have  to  be  the  judge 
of  just  how  much  to  apply  to  the  acre,  as  there  are  so 
many  different  conditions  to  be  taken  into  consideration 
that  the  same  quantity  will  not  answer  for  all. 

As  cultivation  is  needed  anyway,  it  is  well  to  raise 
vegetables  in  the  orchard,  thus  making  the  land  pay  a 
good  acreage  profit  even  if  the  fruit  has  a  bad  season. 
Weeds  are  to  be  kept  out  of  an  orchard  as  zealously  as 
out  of  a  garden.  It  is  also  important  that  we  practice  a 
good  system  of  shallow  cultivation  in  young  orchards. 
The  trees  respond  to  good  tillage  just  as  the  corn  and 
other  cultivated  crops  do.  Barn-yard  manure,  cowpeas 
and  clover  are  three  great  fall  cover  crops  for  a  young 
orchard.     Trees  ought  to  stand  about  thirty  feet  apart. 


GIVE  MORE  ATTENTION  TO  FRUIT  175 

Good  drainage  is  important  in  the  apple  orchard  as  else- 
where. The  apple  does  not  like  "wet  feet."  For  that 
simple  reason  it  succeeds  more  often  on  naturally  well- 
drained  rolling  land  than  in  low,  soggy  places. 

Just  after  the  leaf  buds  in  the  spring  and  before  the 
blossom  buds  open  the  old  orchard  should  be  given  a 
good  spraying  with  the  regular  Bordeaux  mixture  and 
paris  green,  or  lime-sulphur  and  arsenate  of  lead ;  another 
one  just  after  the  blossoms  drop,  and  a  third  some  time 
later  if  troubled  with  the  coddling  moth,  which  is  almost 
sure  to  be  the  case  in  an  old  orchard.  This  fight  against 
the  coddling  moth  must  be  unrelenting.  The  worm  is 
migratory,  traveling  surprising  distances  in  its  work  of 
destruction.  Spraying  should  be  done  in  any  part  of  the 
season  when  pests  are  seen.  A  spraying  after  the  fruit 
has  been  gathered  in  the  fall  is  recommended  in  orchards 
where  pests  are  numerous. 

Constant  cultivation  of  old  orchards  has  taken  from 
the  soil  mineral  elements  that  must  be  supplied  by  arti- 
ficial means.  This  soil  was  at  one  time  rich  in  vegetable 
and  mineral  matter,  and  the  trees  yielded  an  abundance 
of  fine  apples.  Soil  and  climatic  change  is  not  an  un- 
common occurrence,  and  experiments  have  been  made  to 
introduce  the  right  trees  and  to  improve  the  soil. 

The  Northwest  requires  trees  of  a  very  rugged  nature, 
and  they  can  be  adapted  to  the  soil  by  experiments.  We 
need  more  of  this  work  by  farmers  and  practical  or- 
chardists.  Too  much  is  left  to  the  experiment  stations, 
the  nurserymen,  and  to  scientists.  Every  orchardist 
should  have  his  own  stock,  and  each  season  some  test 
should  be  made  of  new  varieties,  selecting  of  course,  those 
most  naturally  adapted  to  his  locality. 

To  be  successful  in  fruit  growing  more  attention  must 
be  given  to  secure  fruit  of  high  quality.  If  only  first- 
class  fruit  be  offered  for  sale  the  demand  for  it  will  be 
enormously  increased. 


Care  and  Skill  in  the  Orchard 

If  the  new  order  of  farming  contemplates  a  larger  and 
more  general  production  of  fruit,  people  must  learn  how 
to  care  for  their  orchards.  There  is  no  profit  in  neglected 
trees,  but  there  are  returns  of  $200  to  $400  an  acre  from 
fruit  where  a  good  system  of  pruning,  spraying  and  culti- 
vation is  followed. 

The  fruit  crop  depends  largely  upon  the  efficiency  with 
which  the  pruning  is  done  in  the  fall.  The  uniform  dis- 
tribution of  branches,  height  of  branches,  height  of  trees 
and  the  health  in  general  of  all  parts  of  them  left  for 
bearing  fruit — all  have  their  influence.  Branches  should 
not  be  left  so  long  and  slender  that  they  will  not  support 
a  goodly  burden  of  fruit. 

As  a  rule,  all  water  sprouts,  those  straight  shoots  run- 
ning directly  up  from  the  main  branches,  should  be  re- 
moved. Limbs  that  are  seen  to  be  partly  dead  or  decayed 
should  be  cut  back  until  one  is  sure  no  part  of  them  is 
left,  as  it  would  but  invite  further  decay,  and  the  sus- 
tenance drawn  by  them  would  be  a  useless  drain  on  the 
vitality  of  the  trees. 

All  tall,  thick  or  topheavy  trees  demand  close  and  care- 
ful pruning.  Fruits  which  are  reared  high  in  mid  air  are 
not  as  exempt  from  the  action  of  the  wind  as  if  they 
were  lower  down.  The  top  of  the  high  tree  itself  is  apt 
to  be  caught  in  the  wind  and  damaged,  perhaps  ruined 
by  being  broken  down. 

The  low  down,  uniformly  pruned  tree  also  will  produce 
more  fruit,  and  of  a  quality  superior  to  that  of  the  tall 
tree,  while  the  ease  with  which  the  fruit  is  picked  from 

176 


CARE  AND  SKILL  IN  THE  ORCHARD  177 

the  low  trees  recommends  them.  After  all  rotten  apples, 
pruned  limbs  and  other  refuse  have  been  cleared  up  about 
the  orchard,  the  tree  should  be  given  a  thorough  spraying. 

If  possible,  one  should  choose  a  warm  day  for  this 
operation,  so  most  of  the  insect  pests  crawling  out  to  lie 
in  the  sunlight  will  be  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  spray- 
ing solution.  Special  attention  should  be  given  old  knots 
and  rough  spots  about  the  trees,  as  in  these  places  the 
fruit  pests  deposit  their  eggs  for  next  season's  crop  and  at 
the  same  time  many  of  these  pests  themselves  are  har- 
boring: safe  retreat  till  winter  is  over. 

There  are  several  reasons  for  this  fall  spraying.  It  not 
only  destroys  the  insect  pests,  but  their  eggs,  also,  which 
have  been  laid.  After  the  spraying,  the  trees  will  be  left 
healthy  and  clean  and  free  from  the  pests,  while  they  are 
developing  their  next  season's  crop. 

Fall  is  the  best  time  in  which  to  fertilize  the  orchard,  as 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  fertility  elements  will  have  pene- 
trated down  to  the  root  of  trees  before  the  ground  freezes 
up  and  the  work  of  rejuvenation  will  have  been  well  be- 
gun when  the  spring  opens. 

Where  the  orchard  is  young  it  will,  of  course,  have  to 
be  plowed  after  giving  it  a  good  coat  of  manure,  straw, 
cornstalks,  etc.  This  is  much  more  productive  of  good 
results  the  following  season  than  where  the  orchard  is 
fertilized  during  the  spring. 

With  the  exception  of  raspberries,  which  should  be  at- 
tended to  early  in  the  spring,  all  the  small  fruit  bushes 
should  be  pruned,  sprayed  and  fertilized  during  the  late 
fall  months.  This  will  include  gooseberries,  currants, 
blackberries,  grape  vines,  etc. 

All  fruit  bushes  or  orchard  trees  which  are  where  rab- 
bits can  reach  them  should  be  wrapped  in  thick  paper, 
gunny  sacks,  cornstalks,  screen  wire  or  the  regular  tree 
protector,  made  of  veneer,  this  protection  extending 
twenty-four  inches  from  the  ground. 


178  CARE  AND  SKILL  IN  THE  ORCHARD 

The  pear  orchard  should  be  cultivated  every  year,  be- 
cause it  is  unsafe  to  apply  the  large  amount  of  stable 
manure  to  pear  trees  when  in  grass  that  is  needed  to  keep 
them  thrifty.  We  can  keep  an  apple  orchard  in  grass  and 
top  dress  it  heavily  enough  to  offset  this  drain  on  the 
soil. 

In  liming  the  soil  of  an  apple  orchard  it  should  be  ap- 
plied at  the  rate  of  about  one  ton  per  acre  at  one  time, 
which  need  not  be  repeated  oftener  than  once  in  three  or 
four  years.  It  should  be  definitely  known  that  the  soil 
needs  liming  before  taking  any  steps  to  do  it.  No  great 
quantity  should  be  put  near  the  trees  but  the  whole  of  the 
soil  evenly  supplied,  which  would  give  a  very  small  por- 
tion about  each  newly  set  tree. 

Hardwood  ashes  are  good  for  trees  of  all  kinds  but 
they  contain  no  nitrogen  and  in  case  they  are  applied, 
something  that  contains  this  element  should  be  added. 
Nitrate  of  soda  contains  it  but  some  kind  of  coarse 
manure  is  better,  because  there  is  humus,  which  loosens 
the  soil  as  well  as  furnishes  nitrogen.  If  a  mixed  fer- 
tilizer is  used  it  should  be  made  of  about  500  pounds  acid 
phosphate  rock,  200  pounds  muriate  of  potash  and  100 
pounds  nitrate  of  soda  for  each  acre.  It  may  be  applied 
with  benefit  at  any  time  of  year,  but  about  April  or  May 
it  will  be  quickly  available  and  be  taken  up  by  the  tree 
roots  during  the  growing  season. 


Common  Fruits  Return  Liberal  Profits 

Profits  in  common  fruit  are  easily  five  times  as  much  as 
in  grain  farming.  Farmers  often  fail,  however,  with  ap- 
ples, cherries,  plums  and  the  like  because  they  treat  them 
as  a  side  issue  and  give  no  real  work  or  intelligent  at- 
tention to  their  orchards. 

Every  farmer  should  have  from  two  to  twenty  acres  of 
fruit  and  the  trees  should  be  cared  for  systematically. 
If  this  is  done  the  profit  will  amount  to  $200  an  acre  or 
more,  three  seasons  out  of  four. 

Plums  will  grow  on  any  land  suitable  for  the  produc- 
tion of  ordinary  farm  crops.  It  should  be  sloping  or  have 
good  drainage.  The  Japanese  sorts  do  best  on  light  soils. 
Many  are  self-sterile,  therefore  varieties  should  be 
planted  intermixed.  Set  the  trees  close,  say  eighteen  feet 
apart.  They  do  best  under  tillage  and  will  be  good  for 
twenty  years  or  so.  They  need  more  water  than  many 
other  kinds  of  fruit.  Feed  the  trees  and  thin  the  fruit; 
also  cut  out  black  knot.  Spray  with  lime-sulphur  solu- 
tion and  arsenate  for  most  troubles.  The  best  plums  for 
commercial   planting   are   obtainable    from   all    reliable 

dealers. 

The  German  prune  is  subject  to  black  knot,  but  this  can 
be  fairly  well  controlled  by  cutting  out.  Italian  and 
German  prunes  are  best  of  all  for  cooking.  They  ship 
well  and  will  long  remain  standard  commercial  plums. 

In  Europe  the  plum  takes  the  first  place  among  fruits ; 
here  it  is  considered  comparatively  unimportant ;  and  its 
culture  is  confined  within  narrow  limits.  It  can  be  made 
very  profitable. 

179 


180  FRUITS  RETURN  LIBERAL  PROFITS 

The  cherry  is  easily  grown.  It  is  attacked  by  few  in- 
sects. Rabbits  seldom  molest  cherry  trees.  In  preparing 
the  soil,  I  advise  heavy  manuring,  deep  plowing,  with 
thorough  cultivation  the  year  before  planting.  Use  two- 
year-old  trees,  well  branched,  and  plant  18  feet  apart,  giv- 
ing thorough  cultivation  for  three  years. 

After  that,  seed  to  clover  and  when  your  orchard  comes 
into  bearing,  mow  all  grass  and  weeds  a  couple  of  times 
during  the  season.  Leave  the  grass  on  the  ground  to 
form  a  mulch.  It  will  have  a  tendency  to  hold  moisture, 
and  also  helps  to  keep  the  ground  loose.  The  less  a 
cherry  orchard  is  plowed  after  it  comes  into  bearing 
the  better,  as  the  feeding  roots  are  very  near  the  surface. 
Roots  broken  off  are  not  quickly  replaced,  as  the  cherry 
is  one  of  the  most  backward  of  fruit  trees  in  putting  out 
new  growth  where  old  growth  has  been  broken  off. 

Cherries  can  be  grown  wherever  the  apple  succeeds — 
north,  east,  south  or  west.  There  is  no  fear  of  over- 
production, as  canning  houses  stand  ready  to  contract  the 
crop  ahead  at  good  prices,  while  private  customers  may 
be  secured  by  all  growers  who  live  near  a  city. 

Apples  surpass  other  fruits  in  money-making,  because 
they  are  hardier  and  allow  a  longer  time  for  handling. 
An  orchardist  ought  to  consider  apples  the  foundation  of 
his  enterprise,  but  he  should  not  neglect  pears,  plums, 
cherries  and  berries. 

Spring  planting  is  to  be  recommended  in  preference 
to  fall  planting.  Get  the  trees  out  just  as  soon  as  the 
frosts  seem  to  be  at  an  end,  placing  them  thirty  feet  apart 
each  way.  This  leaves  a  great  deal  of  land  that  may  be 
used  for  raising  vegetables  and  flowers.  This  constant 
cultivation  is  good  for  fruit  trees,  which  should  have 
mulching  placed  around  them  late  in  the  summer. 

The  trees  should  be  mulched  with  straw,  grass  or 
leafage  of  some  description.  This  mulching  should  not 
be  crowded  around  the  stem,  its  object  being  mainly  to 


FRUITS  RETURN  LIBERAL  PROFITS  181 

create  moist  and  cool  soil  conditions,  and  to  encourage 
a  free  root  establishment.  The  mulch  material  should 
be  occasionally  stirred  and  no  weed  or  grass  growth 
should  be  permitted  to  accumulate. 

Where  mulching  material  is  not  available,  a  frequent 
earth  mulch  should  be  given  by  constantly  stirring  the 
soil  within  a  few  feet  of  the  trees.  In  addition  to  mulch- 
ing it  will  be  beneficial  to  spray  young  trees  with  water, 
particularly  on  hot  or  windy  days. 

Many  of  our  orchard  soils  are  rich  chemically  in  nitro- 
gen, phosphorus  and  potassium,  but  oftentimes  lack 
humus.  By  humus  we  mean  the  completely  decayed  or- 
ganic matter,  which  can  be  obtained  by  the  plowing  under 
of  some  green  manure  crop,  such  as  alfalfa,  clover,  vetch, 
oats,  rye,  cowpeas,  soy  beans,  etc.  Whatever  care  and 
attention  are  given  to  young  trees  will  be  amply  repaid 
to  the  grower  in  after  years,  owing  to  the  vigor,  sturdi- 
ness,  and  other  qualities  thus  imparted  to  them.  The 
trees  begin  to  bear  about  six  years  from  planting  and  at 
ten  years  should  be  in  full  bearing. 

In  regard  to  overproduction,  it  should  be  said  that  this 
is  not  a  new  question.  Fifty  years  ago  a  pessimistic  wail 
was  going  up  that  the  apple  business  would  soon  be  over- 
done, and  would  cease  to  be  profitable.  At  that  time,  not 
more  than  one-tenth  as  many  apples  were  raised  for  com- 
mercial purposes  in  the  United  States  as  are  raised  to- 
day. One  hundred  years  ago  apples  were  but  little  raised 
for  commercial  purposes;  now,  trainloads  and  shiploads 
move  from  the  orchards  to  our  great  centers  of  trade, 
and  across  the  ocean  to  England  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.  Asia  is  calling  for  our  apples.  Australia  is 
taking  thousands  of  boxes  of  our  best  fruit,  and  is  calling 
for  more.  Our  highest  grade  apples  cannot  be  duplicated 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  so  we  have  the  world  for  a 
market  for  our  best  fruit. 

Northwestern  orchardists  receive  fancy  prices  for  their 


182  FRUITS  RETURN  LIBERAL  PROFITS 

fruit,  not  that  it  is  any  better  than  that  produced  in  other 
sections,  but  because  they  are  not  afraid  to  spend  money 
liberally  to  grade,  pack  and  advertise  properly,  the  prod- 
uct of  their  orchards. 

Senator  H.  M.  Dunlap,  of  Illinois,  tells  how  he  man- 
aged several  large  orchards.  He  found  the  best  manner 
of  cultivation  was  with  the  orchard  disc  and  harrow. 
With  these  tools  he  pulverizes  the  ground  thoroughly. 
He  has  a  3-ton  truck,  run  by  gasoline  motor,  for  hauling 
the  apples  to  market,  and  he  uses  this  power  to  run  a 
double  disc  harrow,  it  is  quicker  and  better  than  horse 
power  for  the  purpose.  Manure  and  the  legumes  are  his 
fertilizers.  Work  and  spray,  is  his  motto.  Thorough 
spraying  gives  the  most  perfect  fruit.  It  is  the  essential 
thing  in  controlling  insect  pests  and  fungus  growth.  He 
uses  smudge  pots  when  frost  is  liable  to  damage  the  young 
fruit  in  the  spring. 

Fruits,  either  fresh  or  preserved,  must  not  be  counted 
as  a  luxury,  but  rather  as  a  necessity,  and  indeed  in  these 
days  more  and  more  people  are  coming  to  recognize  their 
food  value.  Available  statistics  show  that  fruits  consti- 
tute a  by  no  means  unimportant  part  of  the  diet  of  the 
American  people.  They  supply  to  us  nearly  five  per  cent 
of  the  total  food  and  about  four  per  cent  of  the  total 
carbohydrates  of  the  food  supply  of  the  average  family 
of  this  country.  It  has  been  amply  demonstrated  that  a 
fruit  and  nut  diet  will  maintain  health  and  strength  of  an 
individual  indefinitely. 


Fruit  Raising  Suited  to  Amateurs 

An  amateur  who  is  about  to  take  a  farm  can  not  do  bet- 
ter than  to  establish  an  orchard.  Market  advantages  in  a 
thickly  settled  state  are  too  important  to  be  disregarded. 
The  keen  demand  for  all  kinds  of  fruit,  not  only  in  cities, 
but  in  every  small  town,  insures  large  profits. 

It  would  be  wise  to  devote  at  least  one  acre  in  ten  to 
fruit.  Thus  on  a  farm  of  fifty  acres  there  ought  to  be 
a  five-acre  orchard.  It  is  best  to  proceed  with  modera- 
tion, for  one  needs  practical  experience.  The  proportion 
of  fruit  may  be  increased  as  the  owner  acquires  skill.  It 
is  equally  wise  for  the  established  farmer  to  give  some 
attention  to  horticulture. 

Cherries,  apples  and  pears  are  among  the  hardiest  of 
the  fruit  crops  and  yield  large  returns.  Late  varieties 
are  safest  in  the  north,  as  losses  frequently  result  from 
frost  after  trees  have  blossomed.  Some  varieties  bud  two 
weeks  later  than  others. 

The  temperature  can  be  controlled  by  artificial  means. 
The  cost  of  heating  per  night  depends  on  several  condi- 
tions. The  cheapest  and  most  reliable  fuel  is  crude  oil. 
I  have  investigated  several  methods  and  have  found  that 
the  cost  of  running  ioo  burners  one  night  is  between 
$2  and  $3.  At  wholesale  rates  the  heaters  cost  about  32 
cents  each.  They  will  last  for  several  years.  I  know  of 
one  fruit  crop  worth  $400  per  acre  which  was  saved  at  a 
cost  of  $3  per  acre. 

To  be  on  the  safe  side,  watch  the  temperature  and  start 
the  heater  when  it  goes  down  to  32  degrees.  This  would 
not  happen  more  than  once  or  twice  in  a  season.    Smudge 

183 


184        FRUIT  RAISING  SUITED  TO  AMATEURS 

fires  also  may  be  used  with  good  effect  around  fruit  trees 
on  a  frosty  night  and  cost  nothing  but  a  little  work  and 
watchfulness. 

Of  the  sour  cherries  Montmorency  is  about  ten  days 
later  than  Richmond,  and  the  fruit  is  larger.  Other  good 
sorts  are  English  Morello,  very  dark  colored,  and  Late 
Duke,  a  good  late  variety.  Slikeman  and  Downer's  Late 
Red  are  both  worth  consideration  on  account  of  their 
lateness ;  the  former  is  the  latest  cherry  we  have ;  both 
are  of  good  quality. 

Of  the  early  sweet  cherries,  the  black  varieties  are  the 
highest  flavored,  and  as  a  table  fruit  they  excel.  Black 
Tartarian  is  one  of  the  best;  Schmidt's  Bigarreau  is 
another  good  sort;  Mercer  is  a  good  dark  red  cherry; 
Rockport  Bigarreau  and  Governor  Wood  are  both  light 
red  varieties,  with  little  to  choose  between  them.  Coe's 
Transparent  is  a  large  light  red;  handsome,  very  meaty, 
but  not  quite  so  luscious  as  some  of  the  others. 

There  is  no  more  prolific  tree  than  the  plum,  and  the 
fruit  can  be  used  for  many  purposes  other  than  as  a  table 
fruit.  The  trees  are  strong  growers  and  outside  of  serv- 
ing as  a  prey  for  the  San  Jose  scale,  a  condition  easily  re- 
lieved by  spraying,  the  trees  give  no  trouble  after  planting. 
And  moreover,  you  don't  plant  only  for  your  children ;  as 
the  trees  bear  in  three  to  four  years.  It  is  peculiar  that 
the  Japanese  varieties  seem  to  do  better  than  our  own  and 
the  European  varieties. 

In  late  pears  Buerre  d'Anjou  should  be  one  selection.  It 
is  not  what  might  be  called  a  pretty  pear,  but  when  ripe, 
is  excellent  for  the  table,  having  a  distinct  flavor ;  the  tree 
is  a  good  bearer,  and  the  pears  are  extra  large.  Sheldon 
ranks  high  as  a  table  pear ;  the  fruit  is  of  fair  size,  brown- 
ish, of  good  shape  and  flavor.  Duchess  d'Angouleme  is 
a  good  all-around  late  pear.  Lawrence  is  the  best  late 
pear ;  it  will  keep  well  into  the  winter ;  it  is  a  good  cropper 
and  the  fruit  is  of  a  fine  quality. 


FRUIT  RAISING  SUITED  TO  AMATEURS  185 

In  late  varieties  of  apples  the  Baldwin  ranks  high  in 
several  essentials.  It  produces  large  crops  and  is  a  good 
keeper.  Ben  Davis,  another  good  keeper,  is  the  prettiest 
apple  we  have,  according  to  many  judges,  and  the  quality 
is  fairly  good  on  a  light  soil.  Newton  Pippin  still  holds 
the  lead,  as  a  high  quality  late  keeper,  but  Rhode  Island 
greening  is  the  best  keeping  green  apple  to  date.  Rox- 
bury  Rust  is  the  best  russet  apple,  and  keeps  late. 
Twenty  Ounce  is  one  of  the  extra  large  apples  which  is 
not  lacking  in  quality. 

Yellow  Transparent  is  classified  as  an  excellent  apple 
in  Cincinnati,  and  by  some  of  the  dealers  in  Indianapolis 
and  Louisville  it  is  regarded  as  very  good. 

Duchess  is  regarded  as  excellent  in  Buffalo,  Chicago, 
Louisville,  Pittsburg,  Columbus,  Indianapolis,  Philadel- 
phia, Toledo  and  St.  Paul. 

Wealthy  is  generally  a  good  apple  in  reputation.  The 
only  market  classifying  it  as  poor  or  fair  is  Mobile. 

Alexander  is  generally  fairly  well  spoken  of ;  it  is  re- 
garded as  poor  by  part  of  the  trade  in  Boston  and  as  a 
fair  apple  by  part  of  the  trade  in  Buffalo,  Indianapolis, 
Kansas  City,  Louisville,  Memphis,  New  Orleans,  Nor- 
folk, Richmond  and  St.  Louis. 

Maiden  Blush  is  an  apple  with  a  good  reputation ;  it  is 
excellent  in  Baltimore,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Columbus, 
Louisville,  New  Orleans,  Pittsburg,  and  sells  well  in  other 
markets. 

Pound  Sweet  is  ranked  as  excellent  by  some  dealers  in 
Boston,  Buffalo,  Chicago  and  Detroit. 

Tolman  Sweet  is  ranked  as  excellent  in  Boston  and  De- 
troit and  as  good  by  part  of  the  trade  in  other  cities. 

Holland  Pippin  is  regarded  as  very  good  by  Columbus, 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Toledo. 

York  Pippin  is  regarded  as  good  by  Columbus,  Mem- 
phis, New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Toledo. 

Snow  is  a  poor  apple  to  send  to  Kansas  City,  Louis- 


186        FRUIT  RAISING  SUITED  TO  AMATEURS 

ville,  Memphis,  Mobile,  New  Orleans  and  Norfolk.  In 
fact,  it  is  not  appreciated  in  southern  markets ;  it  appears 
to  be  in  highest  esteem  in  Boston,  Buffalo,  Chicago,  Cin- 
cinnati, Detroit  and  New  York. 

Apples  are  not  a  tender  fruit  and  may  freeze  slightly, 
though  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  freeze  hard.  Gather 
apples  in  the  first  cool  days  of  fall,  though  it  is  some- 
times necessary  to  gather  a  little  earlier  if  they  are  falling 
badly. 

It  will  be  much  better  to  gather  a  little  early  and  let 
them  lie  in  the  pens  than  to  remain  on  the  trees  when 
they  have  started  to  fall.  When  they  are  gathered,  put 
in  rail  pens  and  cover  with  boards,  and  if  there  are  warm 
days  they  should  be  in  the  shade. 

When  the  weather  becomes  so  cold  that  they  are  likely 
to  freeze  even  when  protected  with  straw,  it  is  time  to 
store  them  for  the  winter,  although  a  great  many  apples 
are  lost  by  storing  them  too  soon. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  pits  being  superior  to  a  cellar 
for  apple  storage.  Select  a  well  drained  spot,  and  scoop 
out  a  depression  not  over  a  foot  deep,  put  straw  in  the 
bottom  of  this  pile,  then  the  apples  in  a  conical  heap, 
cover  with  more  straw  or  hay,  then  with  dirt.  They  will 
keep  plump  and  tender  this  way  when  they  would  shrivel 
in  a  cellar,  though  a  few  for  immediate  use  should  be 
stored  in  the  cellar,  on  the  floor. 


Small  Fruits  Pay  Well 

Land  owners  who  think  they  haven't  time  to  attend  to 
small  fruit  ought  to  make  a  comparison  of  profits.  It  is 
as  easy  to  raise  berries  as  wheat,  oats  or  corn,  and  these 
fruits  return  a  clean  profit  five  times  greater  than  that 
from  grain. 

The  strawberry  should  be  widely  cultivated  by  farm- 
ers, who  with  plenty  of  land  and  dressing  seem  to  have 
no  excuse  for  not  having  their  tables  well  supplied  with 
this  appetizing  berry,  besides  earning  $200  to  $300  an 
acre  on  such  ground  as  they  devote  to  the  product.  There 
are  similar  profits  in  other  small  fruits. 

If  the  soil  is  not  already  fertile,  it  can  be  made  so  by 
the  addition  of  stable  manure  or  commercial  fertilizers. 
To  avoid  grubs,  sod  ground  should  not  be  used,  and  to 
avoid  weeds,  a  hoed  crop  should  precede  the  strawberries. 
Cow  peas  or  soy  beans  make  a  good  preparatory  crop. 

Fall  plowing  is  desirable,  the  soil  being  loosened  up 
in  the  spring  with  a  cultivator  or  harrow.  Under  special 
conditions  strawberries  may  be  set  in  the  fall,  but  for 
the  amateur  grower  spring  setting  is  to  be  recommended. 

The  single  hedge  system  may  be  adopted  if  desired, 
and  rows  may  be  made  three  feet  apart,  and  the  plants 
set  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Under 
this  system  the  grower  will  permit  the  maturing  of  two 
runner  plants  from  the  mother  or  original  plant  set,  and 
these  plants  will  be  layered  in  line  with  the  mother  plant 
in  the  row. 

This  will  give  the  grower  three  plants  for  fruiting  in 
the  season  following  instead  of  one  plant,  and  as  there 

187 


188  SMALL  FRUITS  PAY  WELL 

will  be  ample  room  for  sunshine  and  air,  there  probably 
will  be  an  actual  increase  in  the  quantity  of  fruit  as  com- 
pared with  the  hill  system,  although  it  is  claimed  that 
the  hill  system  is  the  one  which  will  yield  the  greatest 
number  of  large  berries. 

Currant  and  gooseberry  bushes,  red  and  black  rasp- 
berry plants  and  grape  vines,  can  be  planted  successfully 
any  time  in  the  fall  before  winter  sets  in,  but  I  always 
recommend  spring  planting. 

The  most  important  thing  connected  with  gooseberry 
culture  is  judicious  pruning.  This  work,  which  cannot 
be  neglected,  is  done  from  late  autumn  to  early  winter. 
Many  of  the  vigorous-growing  shoots  and  branches  are 
annually  removed,  and  only  a  moderate  supply  of  young 
growing  wood  is  left.  The  bush  is  made  to  assume  a 
cup-shaped  top,  with  slightly  drooping  branches.  The 
cultivation  and  manuring  are  like  that  for  the  currant. 

In  the  cultivation  of  raspberries  keep  the  canes  pinched 
off  as  they  reach  a  height  of  four  feet.  This  is  easily 
done,  and  makes  them  grow  outside  shoots  on  which  ber- 
ries will  grow  the  next  spring.  Cut  out  all  the  canes  of 
raspberries  which  bear  fruit  as  soon  as  the  crop  is 
gathered.     These  canes  are  useless  for  further  bearing. 

The  raspberry  is  a  prolific  bearer.  The  first  year  it 
makes  canes,  and  the  second  year  fruit.  Private  cus- 
tomers can  be  secured  for  the  fruit,  or  it  may  be  sold  to 
grocers. 

The  currant  can  be  grown  to  great  perfection  north 
or  south,  and  large  yields  can  be  obtained.  The  hilling 
of  the  bushes  should  be  avoided,  and  level  and  shallow 
culture  practiced. 

Gooseberries  require  an  open,  airy  situation,  and  clean 
culture.  The  tops  must  be  kept  well  thinned  out  to  in- 
sure good  fruit.  They  should  be  dressed  with  well-com- 
posted manure,  and  no  weeds  should  be  allowed  to  grow 


SMALL  FRUITS  PAY  WELL  189 

in  the  rows.    These  precautions  are  necessary  to  ward  off 
mildew. 

No  other  fruit  can  take  the  place  of  grapes  during 
their  season.  They  afford  an  abundant  supply  of  de- 
licious and  strengthening  food  for  nearly  five  months 
during  the  year.  We  should  grow  grapes  and  eat  freely 
of  them. 

Blackberries  come  late  in  the  summer  and  furnish 
excellent  fruit  for  canning,  preserving  and  making  de- 
licious pies.    There  is  a  good  market  demand  for  them. 

Late  in  the  fall  secure  roots  of  the  right  variety ;  place 
them  where  they  will  be  protected  from  the  freezing 
weather,  or  they  may  be  taken  up  in  the  spring,  but  not 
allowed  to  dry  out.  Prepare  the  ground  as  for  potatoes, 
and  every  third  row  rake  for  the  berry  rows,  planting 
the  other  two  rows  with  potatoes.  Cut  the  roots  into 
pieces  three  inches  long  and  plant  them  one  foot  apart 
in  the  row.    Cover  level  with  the  ground. 

When  the  canes  appear  destroy  all  but  one  in  the  hill, 
which  may  be  done  by  cutting  with  a  knife  or  sickle. 
In  this  way  a  stalky  cane  with  plenty  of  laterals  will  be 
obtained.    Cut  back  these  laterals  to  secure  a  bush  form. 

The  red  raspberry  differs  greatly  in  character  from  the 
black  cap  raspberry.  While  the  black  cap  is  propagated 
'  from  tips,  the  ends  of  the  canes  when  buried  taking  root 
and  forming  the  new  plant,  the  red  raspberry  propa- 
gates from  suckers  that  spring  up  from  the  roots  of  the 
parent  plant.  With  some  varieties,  especially  the  Cuth- 
bert,  these  suckers  are  thrown  up  so  freely  as  to  interfere 
with  the  productiveness  of  the  parent  plants,  making  it 
necessary  for  the  plantation  to  be  renewed  after  it  has 
borne  fruit  two  or  three  years.  Other  varieties,  like 
the  Loudon  and  Syracuse,  are  less  inclined  to  send  out 
sucker  plants  and  therefore  remain  in  fruit  much  longer 
than  the  Cuthbert.    But  any  variety  may  be  kept  in  fruit 


190  SMALL  FRUITS  PAY  WELL 

for  many  years  if  the  young  suckers,  when  they  first 
appear  are  clipped  off  with  a  hoe,  the  same  as  weeds,  but 
this  work  must  be  done  each  week. 

The  average  red  raspberry  is  not  quite  so  hardy  as  the 
black  cap  raspberry,  but  the  Culbert,  Marlboro,  Ruby, 
Herbert  and  Syracuse  have  proved  fairly  hardy. 

The  fruiting  canes  of  the  red  raspberry  are  not  so  wide 
spreading  and  thorny  as  the  black  cap,  therefore,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  plant  the  red  raspberry  quite  so  far  apart 
as  the  black  cap,  but  it  is  well  to  give  all  small  fruits 
plenty  of  room.  In  most  instances  raspberries,  black- 
berries and  currants  are  planted  too  closely  in  the  row 
and  between  the  rows.  I  favor  planting  the  red  rasp- 
berry 4  feet  apart  between  the  rows  and  3^  feet  in  the 
rows,  so  that  the  plant  may  be  cultivated  both  ways. 

The  young  canes  are  usually  cropped  off  to  about  3^2 
feet  at  the  time  they  appear  above  the  old  bushes.  The 
old  canes  are  removed  immediately  after  the  fruit  is 
harvested,  by  means  of  sharp  hooks  with  long  handles, 
and  pulled  into  the  alleys,  and  later  removed  with  horse 
and  rake,  the  rake  being  made  for  that  purpose.  Some- 
times, if  a  plantation  gets  grassy  and  weedy  while  the 
fruit  is  being  picked,  we  give  it  a  thorough  cultivating 
after  the  old  canes  are  removed,  and  sometimes  even  plow 
the  ground  lightly  between  the  rows,  following  the  drain- 
age slope  and  always  throwing  the  furrow  up  to  the 
bushes. 

The  cultivation  and  growing  of  red  raspberries  afford 
a  pleasant  and  profitable  occupation.  While  the  pro- 
duction of  profitable  crops  seems  more  difficult  than  in 
former  years,  the  higher  prices  paid  more  than  repay  our 
additional  efforts,  while  the  demand  for  this  variety  of 
fruit  is  steadily  increasing. 

The  Cuthbert  can  be  grown  on  any  soil,  but  a  deep, 
moist,  sandy  loam  will  produce  the  best  crops.  An  abun- 
dance of  moisture  is  absolutely  necessary  in  the  produc- 


SMALL  FRUITS  PAY  WELL  191 

tion  of  a  good  crop.  Thorough  but  shallow  cultivation 
is  essential,  and  will  aid  immensely  in  conserving  mois- 
ture, and  prevent  loss  by  evaporation  during  dry  weather. 
Use  plenty  of  well-rotted  manure,  spread  around  the 
bushes  in  winter  if  possible.  This  will  invigorate  the 
bush,  insuring  larger  and  better  fruit  the  next  season,  and 
will  aid  in  the  production  of  strong  young  plants  for 
future  crops. 

I  would  like  to  say  a  word  about  the  treatment  of 
anthracnose.  It  is  a  disease  that  can  be  overcome.  We 
are  liable  to  have  years  when  anthracnose  is  severe,  and 
then  again  it  disappears.  This  plan  of  treatment  strikes 
me  as  the  most  favorable,  and  I  think  will  be  found  suc- 
cessful in  general  practice:  When  you  lift  the  canes  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  treat  with  bordeaux  mixture ; 
make  it  double  strength,  and  cover  the  canes  with  it  soon 
after  they  are  lifted.  When  the  young  growth  appears 
and  is  about  eight  inches  high,  spray  again,  but  use  the 
mixture  weak,  just  half  the  strength  you  did  before. 
The  theory  is  this :  The  spores  are  thrown  off  by  the 
canes  early  in  the  spring  from  these  infected  spots,  and 
when  they  are  covered  by  a  thick  bordeaux  mixture  it 
prevents  these  spores  being  thrown  off.  You  cannot 
prevent  injury  to  the  old  canes,  but  you  can  prevent  in- 
jury to  the  young  canes,  and  if  you  spray  you  can  make 
the  young  canes  grow  well  the  first  season  without  any 
serious  damage — but  spray  the  second  time  when  the 
young  canes  are  about  eight  inches  high. 

Currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  are  often  injured  by 
the  borer.  The  egg  is  laid  about  June  1st.  When  hatched, 
the  young  borer  works  its  way  into  the  cane,  and  remains 
until  the  following  spring,  eating  out  the  pith  and  caus- 
ing death  of  cane.  As  soon  as  the  leaves  start,  the  af- 
fected parts  are  easily  discovered,  and  should  be  cut  out 
and  burned. 


Have  Early  and  Late  Strawberries 

Great  strides  forward  have  been  made  in  strawberry 
culture.  It  is  not  only  possible  to  grow  a  profitable  crop 
within  twelve  months  from  the  date  of  setting  out  plants, 
but  there  are  notable  achievements  with  what  is  known 
as  the  ever-bearing  variety. 

Successful  experiments  are  being  made  in  extending 
the  strawberry  season  so  that  this  fruit  may  be  picked 
both  earlier  and  later  than  heretofore.  The  principal 
point  gained  is  in  getting  more  time  for  marketing  a 
perishable  commodity.  Profits  already  are  high,  but  they 
will  be  increased. 

While  the  ever-bearing  variety  will  produce  fruit  at 
the  same  season  as  the  ordinary  strawberries  and  keep  on 
bearing  until  frost,  to  get  the  best  results,  the  blossoms 
should  be  kept  pinched  off  until  August  i,  so  as  to  con- 
serve the  energies  of  the  plant  for  the  fall  crop. 

By  planting  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  a  good  crop  will 
be  obtained  the  same  year  and  every  year.  Picking  will 
begin  about  the  middle  of  August  and  continue  right 
along  until  winter  sets  in.  The  blossoms  must  be  pinched 
off  until  the  supplies  of  common  varieties  are  pretty  well 
exhausted,  and  the  market  demand  for  fresh  stock  begins 
to  get  keen. 

One  grower,  by  that  method,  gathered  nearly  400 
quarts  from  500  plants  set  out  in  the  spring.  The  quality 
was  superb  and  the  size  good,  but  not  up  to  the  large 
June  berries,  because  of  the  season  at  which  they  were 
borne. 

The  autumn  strawberry  is  going  to  give  us  more  money 

192 


HAVE  EARLY  AND  LATE  STRAWBERRIES      193 

to  the  acre  because  late  prices  will  be  highest,  and  this 
new  variety  of  berry  is  both  hardy  and  prolific. 

Those  who  have  tested  autumn  strawberry  culture  have 
been  able  to  market  the  most  delicious  fruit  up  to  the 
middle  of  November  in  northern  regions.  These  late 
grown  berries  are  readily  taken  at  20  to  30  cents  a  quart, 
and  evidently  it  will  require  years  to  create  an  oversup- 
ply.    Ordinary  frosts  have  little  effect  on  them. 

All  large  plant  and  seed  houses  are  ready  to  furnish 
this  new  strawberry,  a  fruit  which  is  likely  to  create 
something  of  a  furore. 

While  the  autumn  strawberries  will  blossom  and  yield 
fruit  from  June  till  November,  the  best  results  are  gained 
for  the  producer  by  raising  common  stock  for  early  trade 
and  reserving  the  new  product  for  fall  business.  It  will 
be  found  that  the  late  berries  command  a  price  about  twice 
as  high  as  that  paid  for  early  ones,  as  the  market  becomes 
glutted  in  June  and  July. 

These  autumn  strawberries  are  known  to  the  trade  as 
the  ever-bearing  variety.  They  yield  fruit  as  early  as  any 
other  kind,  but  the  point  to  be  kept  in  mind  is  that  by 
holding  back  the  berries  of  the  new  variety  a  heavy  yield 
is  insured  for  the  latter  part  of  the  season  when  the  com- 
mon kinds  do  not  yield.  The  method  of  pinching  off 
blossoms  to  retard  fruit  bearing  is  quite  simple. 

Another  valuable  peculiarity  of  the  new  strawberry 
is  that  its  first  fall  crop,  grown  the  same  season  that  the 
plants  are  set  out,  will  be  one  of  the  heaviest  it  will  ever 
produce.  Common  strawberries  to  be  a  success  must  be 
retarded  until  the  second  year.  The  second  year's  crop  of 
the  ever-bearing  variety  is  apt  to  be  as  satisfactory  as  the 
first,  provided  cultivation  and  winter  mulching  have  not 
been  neglected.  Each  season  adds  new  plants,  so  that  the 
stock  can  be  kept  in  a  vigorous  state.  After  two  or  three 
seasons  it  may  be  best  to  discard  old  plants. 

In  getting  ready  for  the  new  or  the  common  variety  it 


194   HAVE  EARLY  AND  LATE  STRAWBERRIES 

is  advisable  to  take  a  piece  of  land  that  has  borne  some 
such  crop  as  clover,  cowpeas  or  turnips  and  which  has 
had  a  lot  of  well-rotted  manure  plowed  in.  A  bit  of  land 
that  has  had  rather  more  than  ordinary  cultivation  is  best 
of  all.  A  gentle  slope  is  desirable,  or  the  land  may  become 
soggy  at  a  time  when  the  young  plants  need  warm,  loose 
soil.  Drained  land  usually  answers  the  purpose  well.  Fall 
plowing  is  recommended.  Then  in  the  spring,  before 
planting,  the  soil  should  be  stirred  up  with  a  disc  or  har- 
row, after  which  a  roller  ought  to  be  used. 

Occasionally  a  successful  grower  is  found  who  sets 
out  strawberry  plants  late  in  the  summer  in  order  to  get 
fruit  the  next  season,  but  spring  planting  is  preferable. 
Plant  as  early  as  the  soil  can  be  worked  or  as  soon  as 
the  danger  from  frost  is  over.  Rows  should  be  three 
feet  apart  to  permit  the  use  of  a  horse  cultivator,  and 
plants  are  to  be  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 

Commence  cultivation  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry 
enough  and  let  it  be  thorough,  once  every  week  during  the 
summer.  As  the  row  begins  to  widen  the  farmer  should 
each  time  narrow  down  the  cultivated  space  between  the 
rows,  and  after  the  row  has  attained  the  proper  width  con- 
tinue to  cultivate  to  prevent  plants  forming  in  the  center 
of  the  rows. 

Do  not  let  the  fields  become  matted,  but  maintain  an 
open  center  between  the  rows.  Matting  may  be  allowed 
in  the  rows,  as  this  is  a  natural  growth  for  the  straw- 
berry. Better  results  are  obtained  by  growing  in  matted 
rows  than  under  any  other  method. 

The  plants  must  not  be  allowed  to  suffer  for  water  in 
the  fruiting  season  and  a  mulch  will  be  found  to  be  of 
great  advantage.  High  cultivation  is  essential  for  the 
best  results  in  all  crops,  and  in  growing  these  straw- 
berries a  little  extra  trouble  will  pay  well. 

Pot-grown  strawberries  are  superior  to  the  ordinary 
ground  layers  usually  sold,  as  there  is  no  loss  of  fine 


HAVE  EARLY  AND  LATE  STRAWBERRIES      195 

roots  in  taking  them  up  and  they  can  be  shipped  safely 
to  distant  parts  and  be  transplanted  at  any  season,  and  it 
scarcely  checks  their  growth. 

After  the  late  crop  is  off,  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber cover  the  bed  to  a  depth  of  three  inches  with  hay, 
straw  or  leaves.  In  April,  as  soon  as  the  plants  show  an 
indication  of  growth,  push  the  covering  away  so  that 
the  plants  may  come  up  through.  This  "mulching"  pro- 
tects the  plants  from  cold  in  winter  and  the  heat  in  sum- 
mer, keeps  the  fruit  clean  and  prevents  the  growth  of 
weeds. 

For  illustration  of  what  the  late-bearing  strawberry 
will  do  the  following  statement  of  an  eastern  expert  is 
quoted : 

"In  the  spring  of  1910  I  purchased  250  plants  each 
of  Americus  and  Francis,  and  set  them  in  carefully  pre- 
pared rich  ground  about  May  first.  They  were  set  in 
rows  3J/2  feet  apart,  with  the  plants  one  foot  apart  in 
the  row.  They  occupied  just  about  one  twenty-fifth  of 
an  acre. 

"They  were  given  good  care,  well  fertilized  and  hoed, 
and  the  weeds  carefully  kept  out.  The  blossoms  were 
kept  pinched  off  until  about  August  1,  and  on  August  23 
we  picked  four  quarts,  and  they  continued  to  yield  berries 
until  November  II,  when  the  last  three  quarts  were 
gathered. 

"During  the  week  of  September  12th  to  the  17th  we 
picked  nearly  100  quarts,  which  were  shown  at  the  State 
Fair  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  The  largest  single  picking  was 
48  quarts,  gathered  September  29." 


Commercial  Handling  of  Strawberries 

There  are  few  products  that  equal  the  strawberry  for 
profit.  It  is  a  sure  crop  and  gives  quick  returns.  The 
yield  is  nearly  always  upwards  of  $200  an  acre  and  it 
may  run  to  double  this  figure. 

The  best  time  to  set  a  strawberry  bed  is  the  early 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  land  is  in  good  condition  and  the 
plants  can  be  obtained.  There  is  more  moisture  as  a  rule 
at  that  time,  and  this,  combined  with  the  cool  weather 
of  spring  gives  better  growing  conditions  than  fall  plant- 
ing. Plants  may  also  be  set  in  the  fall,  if  extra  attention 
and  care  are  given  them. 

Strawberries  require  a  rich  soil,  hence  it  is  well  to 
thoroughly  manure  the  land  that  is  to  be  used  for  the 
crop  in  the  fall,  and  plow  under  from  four  to  six  inches 
deep.  In  the  spring,  disc,  drag  and  smooth  thoroughly. 
This  gives  a  loose  soil  in  which  to  set  the  plants,  and 
a  firm  sub-soil  to  hold  the  moisture,  and  yet  open  enough 
to  let  the  roots  through. 

Any  land  that  will  grow  a  good  crop  of  corn  will  grow 
strawberries.  Sod  land  should  never  be  used,  as  it  is 
likely  to  contain  grubs  and  cut-worms,  which  will  eat 
off  the  roots  of  newly  set  plants. 

Plants  having  a  small  crown  and  a  large  number  of 
white  fibrous  roots,  are  best  for  planting.  It  is  not  a 
good  plan  to  use  plants  that  have  borne  fruit,  as  they 
are  weaker.  The  best  plants  are  obtained  from  planta- 
tions that  have  not  been  allowed  to  fruit.  Their  roots 
are  white,  while  the  roots  of  the  old  plants  are  brown. 

Before  planting,  all  dead  leaves  should  be  removed. 

196 


COMMERCIAL  HANDLING  OF  STRAWBERRIES  197 

The  roots  should  be  pruned  back  to  about  3  or  4  inches. 
All  flowers  should  be  kept  off  the  plants  the  first  season, 
as  this  provides  a  stronger  growth.  It  is  best  to  get 
the  plants  from  a  nurseryman  or  strawberry  specialist, 
as  they  are  not  as  likely  to  be  mixed  as  when  obtained 
from  a  neighbor. 

The  method  of  planting  in  common  farm  use  is  the 
matted  row  system.  When  the  land  is  in  good  condi- 
tion to  work,  harrow  smooth,  and  mark  out  rows  three 
feet  apart  and  as  long  as  possible.  Then  set  the  plants 
at  18-inch  intervals  in  the  rows,  and  cultivate  often 
enough  to  keep  the  weeds  out  and  the  soil  loose  until  Sep- 
tember. If  the  plants  are  then  vigorous  growers,  the  run- 
ners should  be  about  6  inches  apart.  It  is  desirable  to 
train  the  runners  the  long  way  of  the  rows,  cutting  out 
plants  that  crowd. 

An  ordinary  planting  trowel  or  spade  is  used  to  set 
the  plants.  A  spade  is  an  easy  implement  to  open  the 
ground  with.  Strike  it  into  the  ground  and  work  it  back 
and  forth,  draw  out  the  spade,  spread  the  roots  of  the 
plant  and  set  it  so  the  crown  comes  just  to  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  Firm  the  soil  well  about  the  roots  of  the 
plant.  This  method  requires  a  man  to  handle  the  spade 
and  a  boy  to  set  the  plants. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  setting  the  plants,  cultivation 
should  commence  and  it  should  continue  at  frequent  in- 
tervals till  fall.  Keep  the  weeds  down  and  the  top  soil 
loose.  If  the  runners  get  too  thick,  cut  out  part  of  them, 
leaving  about  6  inches  between  them.  Runners  may  be 
encouraged  to  root  by  putting  an  inch  or  two  of  soil 
over  each  one,  near  the  end. 

It  requires  about  7,000  strawberry  plants  for  an  acre, 
and  these  will  bear  25  to  50  bushels  the  first  season  if 
allowed  to  do  so.  The  custom  is  to  pinch  off  all  blossoms 
the  first  year.  A  crop  of  100  to  200  bushels  may  be  ex- 
pected the  second  summer.     Clean  straw  or  grass  makes 


198  COMMERCIAL  HANDLING  OF  STRAWBERRIES 

the  best  winter  mulch.  The  rows  are  covered  2  to  4 
inches  deep.  This  winter  mulch  should  be  raked  from 
the  plants  and  left  between  the  rows  as  a  protection  to 
the  fruits  and  a  safeguard  against  drouth  in  the  fruit- 
ing season. 

Winter  killing  of  the  strawberry  appears  to  be  more 
often  due  to  alternate  freezing  and  thawing,  together 
with  the  consequent  drying  out  of  the  surface  soil,  than 
to  the  low  temperature  itself.  Thus  in  beds  where  severe 
winter  injury  has  occurred,  the  roots  are  often  found 
to  be  killed  for  a  short  distance  below  the  crown,  while 
farther  down  they  are  alive.  In  such  cases  the  plants 
frequently  start  into  growth  in  spring,  but  die  down  in  a 
short  time. 

The  strawberry  plant,  as  well  as  the  bramble  plants, 
can  and  do  endure  drouth  and  ask  little  aid  from  man 
in  their  season  of  barrenness,  but  during  the  very  brief 
period  when  their  fruits  approach  and  reach  maturity 
they  demand  more  ready  moisture  than  slow  maturing 
field  crops.  For  this  reason  the  fruit  grower  is  at  a  dis- 
advantage. 

Crops  that  demand  highly  intensive  culture  and  make 
high  returns  for  the  area  planted  may  render  irrigation 
an  economical  measure.  For  example,  the  new  fall-bear- 
ing strawberry  is  generally  the  victim  of  the  fairly  regu- 
lar heat  and  drouth  of  August  and  September.  A  method 
of  irrigation  that  would  provide  it  with  a  full  supply  of 
water  might  with  reasonable  assurance  be  counted  on  to 
insure  an  annual  crop.  This  granted,  other  conditions 
affecting  success  would  have  consideration. 

The  center  of  the  most  important  strawberry  industry 
of  New  York  State  is  at  Oswego.  The  leading  natural 
advantage  of  this  region  for  the  commercial  production 
of  strawberries  is  the  lateness  at  which  the  crop  matures. 
When  the  berry  season  of  New  Jersey  and  southern  New 
York  is  past,  the   Oswego  berries  are  in  their  prime. 


COMMERCIAL  HANDLING  OF  STRAWBERRIES  199 

Lateness  is  still  further  emphasized  in  the  selection  of 
late  varieties,  as  Atlantic,  Parker  Earle  and  Gandy.  The 
season  opens  about  June  20  and  continues  for  three 
weeks. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  does  it  cost  to  grow 
an  acre  of  strawberries  ?  Growers  in  the  Oswego  region 
have  given  figures  of  actual  cost  as  follows:  Rent  of 
land  two  years,  $11 ;  plowing  and  fitting,  $6;  plants,  $15 ; 
setting  plants,  $4;  cultivation,  $16;  straw  for  winter  and 
fruiting  mulch,  $15;  labor,  hoeing,  pulling  weeds,  etc., 
$10.    Total  cost,  %yy. 

Many  growers  raise  berries  at  much  less  cost,  and  a 
few  exceed  this  sum,  especially  when  located  near  a  large 
town,  where  rents  are  high ;  but  it  would  be  safe  for  one 
about  to  engage  in  strawberry  growing  to  figure  close 
to  this  total,  aside  from  the  cost  of  fertilizer. 


Thorough  Cultivation  Makes  Gardening  Pay 

Whether  gardening  is  conducted  for  profit  or  merely 
for  exercise  and  pleasure,  one  needs  to  do  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  a 
majority  of  those  who  take  up  the  work  desire  both  profit 
and  pleasure. 

A  common  source  of  failure  is  sourness  of  the  soil, 
which  is  found  in  places  almost  wholly  shaded  during  the 
months  which  intervene  between  the  growing  seasons 
and  which  also  lack  a  free  circulation  of  air.  Wood  ashes 
and  slaked  lime  are  good  for  this  and  also  are  a  most  ex- 
cellent fertilizer.  A  peck  of  ashes  well  mixed  with  a 
wagon  load  of  soil  is  the  gardener's  rule,  but  for  small 
beds,  spade  the  ground  deeply  and  after  breaking  up  the 
lumps  and  raking  thoroughly,  scatter  ashes  or  lime  evenly 
over  the  surface  until  it  is  as  white  as  after  a  light  snow- 
fall ;  then  rake  in  well.  This  should  be  done  before  plant- 
ing time,  or  as  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  worked.  It  is 
best  to  have  the  plowing  done  in  the  fall. 

Success  in  the  vegetable  garden  depends  largely  upon 
thorough  and  frequent  tillage.  The  tillage  should  be- 
gin as  soon  as  the  plants  can  be  seen,  and  should  be  re- 
peated at  intervals  of  about  one  week  throughout  the  sea- 
son. Much  labor  will  be  saved  by  substituting  a  wheel 
hoe  for  the  hand  hoe  for  stirring  the  soil  close  about  the 
plants,  while  they  are  small  and  by  using  a  horse  for  culti- 
vating between  the  rows  wherever  there  is  sufficient 
space.  If  these  methods  are  employed,  the  most  irksome 
features  of  vegetable  gardening — the  weeding  and 
tedious  hand  tillage — will  be  eliminated. 

200 


THOROUGH  CULTIVATION  201 

As  soon  as  the  heavy  frosts  are  over  and  the  ground  is 
tillable  we  may  plant  onions,  lettuce,  spinach,  radishes, 
beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  parsley  and  peas.  The  normal 
season  for  planting  these  crops  is  when  the  farmer  is 
sowing  his  oats. 

The  warm  season  crops  are  subject  to  injury  by  frost 
and  can  not  safely  be  planted  until  the  weather  is  com- 
paratively warm.  The  different  crops  in  this  group,  how- 
ever, differ  in  respect  to  the  intensity  of  heat  they  re- 
quire. Thus,  sweet  corn  and  string  beans  are  usually 
planted  early  in  May;  lima  beans,  tomatoes,  cucumbers, 
melons  and  squashes  are  planted  from  one  to  two  weeks 
later,  while  sweet  potatoes  and  egg  plants  should  be  kept 
in  the  hot-bed  until  the  last  of  May  or  the  first  week  in 
June. 

Lettuce  can  be  grown  successfully  on  poor  soil,  but 
only  through  the  early  spring  and  the  late  fall,  as  the 
ground  becomes  so  hot  that  it  will  burn  in  the  head,  and 
then  it  is  ruined  for  market.  On  rich  land  there  is  always 
a  certain  amount  of  moisture  that  remains  in  the  soil,  and 
then  the  evening  dews  help  to  keep  the  ground  cool.  Keep 
the  land  free  from  weeds.  The  more  frequent  the  culti- 
vation the  larger  the  yield. 

Where  garden  peas  and  beans  are  grown,  earliness  and 
tenderness  are  greatly  desired,  as  well  as  flavor.  These 
qualities  will  be  found  where  a  good  supply  of  nitrogen 
and  phosphoric  plant  food  are  available.  A  suitable  fer- 
tilizer for  these  crops  is  600  pounds  per  acre  carrying  4 
per  cent  nitrogen,  8  per  cent  phosphoric  acid  and  10  per 
cent  potash. 

Tomatoes,  corn  and  potatoes  enjoy  a  medium  long  sea- 
son of  growth,  therefore  it  is  necessary  that  they  have  a 
sufficient  supply  of  the  correct  food  elements  to  satisfy 
their  requirements  throughout  their  growing  season.  The 
market  demands  a  smoothly  formed,  solid,  well-colored 
tomato,  and  juicy  yet  well-filled  corn. 


202  THOROUGH  CULTIVATION 

Potato  growers  of  the  famous  Aroostook  district  of 
Maine,  practice  a  three-year  rotation  of  corn,  clover  and 
potatoes.  By  this  means  it  is  evident  that  the  organic 
matter  of  the  soil  is  maintained.  When  the  potatoes  are 
planted  it  is  the  custom  to  apply  as  high  as  1,500  to  2,000 
pounds  per  acre  of  a  fertilizer  analyzing  4  per  cent  nitro- 
gen, 6  per  cent  phosphoric  acid  and  10  per  cent  potash. 

Cabbage  is  an  excellent  crop  for  profits  and  for  soil 
preservation.  The  large  drum-head  type  is  used  for  the 
early  family  trade  and  for  making  sauerkraut.  It  usually 
produces  a  heavier  tonnage  per  acre  than  the  Holland  or 
Danish  ball  type,  but  sells  at  a  lower  price. 

The  Holland  variety  produces  a  head  nearly  round,  and 
very  hard.  It  is  used  for  winter  storage,  and  is  in  de- 
mand late  in  the  fall.  The  later  it  can  be  stored,  the  less 
loss  for  the  buyer,  so  this  should  be  grown  for  late  de- 
livery. 

This  may  be  somewhat  of  a  guide  as  to  what  type  to 
grow.  In  either  case  see  a  buyer  in  the  spring,  and  ar- 
range for  marketing,  and  then,  when  the  time  for  harvest 
nears,  let  him  know  about  what  time  the  crop  will  be 
ready  and  its  prospective  amount.  The  average  farmer 
cannot  so  profitably  store  his  cabbages  as  he  can  potatoes. 

In  setting  the  plants  for  a  cabbage  crop,  set  in  rows — 
both  ways  for  easy  cultivation — and  be  careful  to  get  the 
rows  even  distance  and  in  straight  lines. 

Use  a  fine,  spike-tooth  cultivator.  Cultivate  as  long  as 
you  can  get  through  the  rows.  After  the  plants  are  well 
established  in  growth,  and  begin  to  reach  out,  do  not 
work  very  deeply,  as  the  root  system  of  the  plants  com- 
pletely fills  the  soil. 

Put  on  the  wide  sweeps  so  you  can  reach  under  the 
leaves  and  yet  not  cut  many  roots.  For  the  last  time  take 
off  the  two  back  shanks  and  use  only  three  plate  teeth. 

Plan  your  field  so  you  can  drive  with  one  wheel  in  the 


THOROUGH  CULTIVATION  203 

ditch  and  straddle  one  row  of  cabbages.  This  makes  it 
easy  to  harvest. 

Other  crops  which  the  farmer  can  grow  profitably  in 
many  sections  are  carrots  and  rutabagas.  Both  are  ex- 
cellent stock  feed,  and  all  small  or  imperfect  ones  can  be 
used  on  the  farm,  as  well  as  any  surplus. 

You  should  look  up  the  prospective  market  in  the 
spring,  before  planting,  then  use  the  best  varieties  and 
deliver  only  choice  stock,  well  trimmed  and  honestly 
packed. 

Horseradish  is  commonly  grown  from  sets  and  not 
from  seed.  Some  claim  they  have  the  best  success  grow- 
ing it  as  a  second  crop  after  the  early  cabbage,  beets, 
etc.  The  crop  is  dug  in  the  fall,  the  small  roots  removed 
and  cut  into  sets  four  to  six  inches  long.  The  top  end  is 
cut  square  and  the  bottom  slanting  so  as  to  make  no  mis- 
take in  planting.  These  are  tied  in  bundles  and  kept 
over  winter  in  sand.  In  the  spring  after  the  cabbages  are 
set  out,  a  row  of  horseradish  is  set  in  between  the  cab- 
bage rows.  Small  holes  are  made  with  a  light  crowbar  or 
long  stick  and  the  sets  dropped  in  and  covered  two  or 
three  inches  deep  so  that  they  do  not  come  up  until 
July  first.  Any  deep,  rich,  well  drained  soil  will  answer 
for   horseradish. 

The  humble  peanut  was  grown  in  this  country  in  1909, 
according  to  recent  official  figures,  to  the  value  of  over 
18  million  dollars.  The  area  under  this  crop  was  870,000 
acres,  a  third  greater  than  in  1899,  and  the  production 
nearly  20,000,000  bushels.  The  leader  in  acreage  was 
North  Carolina,  followed  in  the  order  named  by  Georgia, 
Virginia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Texas ;  others  scattered.  The 
average  farm  value  per  bushel  of  peanuts  increased  from 
61  cents  in  1899  to  94  cents  in  1909. 


Practical  Study  of  Gardening 

I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  gardeners  and  farmers 
generally  to  the  wisdom  of  saving  the  seeds  of  all  extra 
choice  home-grown  products.  It  is  the  quickest  way  of 
securing  a  variety  just  adapted  in  all  respects  to  the  soil 
and  climatic  conditions,  and  one  knows  at  planting  time 
just  about  what  to  expect  from  his  crop.  Melons,  espe- 
cially, vary  to  such  a  marked  extent,  that  whenever  an 
especially  delicious  one  is  cut,  its  seeds  should  be  carefully 
saved,  and  labeled  in  some  way  to  indicate  their  special 
merit.  Squash,  pumpkins,  tomatoes,  peppers,  and  any 
other  vegetables  which  are  normally  picked  ripe,  should 
have  unusually  perfect  specimens  selected  for  the  seed. 
Of  course  it  does  not  pay  to  save  the  seed  except  from 
unusually  good  specimens,  because  even  then,  many  will 
be  produced  inferior  to  the  parent  stock,  and  a  few,  prob- 
ably, much  superior  to  the  parent  stock.  Vegetables,  and 
such  fruits  as  the  melons,  usually  come  fairly  true  from 
seed.  Other  fruits  are  customarily  budded  or  grafted, 
and  seed  selection  is  useless  except  for  experimentation. 
Leave  the  very  best  of  the  vegetables  to  thoroughly  ripen. 
The  seeds  will  be  worth  much  more  during  the  year  to 
come  than  the  single  specimen  which  produced  them. 

Gardening  is  profitable  to  any  family  that  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  lands.  It  also  may  be  a  source  of  pleasure  as 
well  as  profit.  For  the  benefit  of  beginners,  who  may  be 
unfamiliar  with  the  quantities  of  seed  needed  to  plant  a 
garden  of  a  given  size,  the  following  tabular  statement 
is  inserted.  It  represents  the  quantities  of  seeds  which 
should  be  purchased  for  planting  gardens  suitable  to  the 

204 


PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING 


205 


needs  of  the  ordinary  country  home.  Any  person  of 
practical  ability  who  wishes  to  raise  vegetables  ex- 
tensively for  market  can  enlarge  the  quantity  of  seed  or 
roots  to  any  extent : 

Farmer's 
garden. 

Asparagus    100  roots 

Beans,  green  podded 1  pt. 

Wax 1  pt. 

Lima 1  pt. 

Beets    2  oz. 

Cabbage,   early 1  pkt. 

Second  early 1  pkt. 

Late  1  pkt. 

Carrot    1  oz. 

Cauliflower   1  pkt. 

Celery 1  oz. 

Corn,  sweet,  extra  early 1  pt. 

Second  early 1  pt. 

Late    1  pt. 

Cucumber  1  oz. 

Eggplant    1  doz.  pi.      Yz 

Lettuce,  leaf 1  oz. 

Head 1  pkt. 

Muskmelon 1  oz. 

Onion  seed 2  oz. 

Sets,  bottom 1  qt. 

Sets,  top   (perennial) 1  qt. 

Parsley 1  pkt. 

Parsnip    1  oz. 

Peas,  extra  early  smooth 1  pt. 

Early  dwarf  wrinkled 1  qt. 

Late  wrinkled 1  pt. 

Pepper   1  pkt. 

Radish   3  oz. 

Rhubarb   1  oz. 

Spinach 1  oz. 

Squash,   summer 1  oz. 

Winter   1  oz. 

Sweet   potatoes 200  plants 

Tomato    2  pkts. 

Turnip   1  oz. 

Watermelon 1  oz. 


Suburban 
garden. 
50  roots 
Hpt. 

XA  pt. 
j^pt. 

oz. 

pkt. 

pkt. 

pkt. 

pkt. 

pkt. 

pkt. 

£pt. 

Spt. 

j^pt. 

oz. 

doz.  pi. 
pkt. 
pkt. 
Vz  oz. 
oz. 
qt. 

pkt. 
pkt. 

Hpt. 
^2pt. 

pkt. 

oz. 

oz. 
pkt. 


pkt. 

pkt. 

2  oz. 


In  growing  asparagus  the  most  satisfactory  method  to 
pursue  is  that  of  propagating  from  seed.  The  plants 
should  be  grown  in  the  seed-bed  the  first  year  and  trans- 


206  PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING 

planted  to  a  permanent  bed  the  second  spring.  As  this 
bed  will  last  for  a  number  of  years,  great  care  should  be 
taken  to  see  that  the  ground  is  thoroughly  prepared. 
Upon  this  rests  your  success.  The  land  should  be  deeply 
plowed  and  heavily  manured  with  well-rotted  stable 
manure  the  fall  before  planting.  In  planting,  the  rows 
should  be  six  feet  apart  and  the  plants  two  feet  in  the 
row.  Furrow  out  the  rows  to  a  depth  of  eight  inches 
and  plant  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow.  The  roots  should 
be  covered  lightly  at  first,  packing  the  soil  well,  however, 
around  them  and  filling  in  the  furrow  as  the  stalks  appear 
above  the  surface.  It  is  better  not  to  gather  any  crops 
until  the  second  spring  after  the  plants  are  put  out,  and 
then  it  should  not  be  cropped  heavily.  The  first  two  years 
frequent  tillage  is  important,  but  after  that  the  ground 
is  sufficiently  shaded  and  mulched  to  give  little  trouble 
from  weeds.  In  growing  asparagus,  occasional  applica- 
tions of  salt  will  stimulate  the  growth  as  this  is  a  sea- 
shore plant.  Among  the  best  varieties  are  Conover's 
Colossal  and  Palmetto. 

About  the  middle  of  May  I  plant  cucumbers  in  rich, 
loose  soil,  the  ground  having  been  laid  off  in  small  hills 
six  feet  apart,  with  several  holes  in  each  of  these  hills. 
The  holes  need  to  be  three  inches  deep  and  each  should 
contain  a  half-dozen  seeds. 

After  every  rain,  or  in  a  week  at  the  outside,  rake  over 
the  surface  of  the  hills,  in  fact,  the  whole  plot  devoted  to 
cucumbers.  By  that  time  if  the  weather  has  been  warm 
the  young  plant  will  be  breaking  through  the  ground. 
After  that,  continue  to  cultivate  as  often  as  necessary  to 
maintain  the  soil  mulch,  and  please  observe  that  this  is  the 
most  important  part  of  the  season's  operation.  Of  course 
if  you  cultivate  properly  you  will  not  be  troubled  with 
weeds. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  cucumbers  appear  above  the  ground, 
take  a  shovelful  of  wood  ashes  and  in  the  early  morning 


PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING  207 

while  the  dew  is  still  on  the  plants,  sprinkle  them  care- 
fully. Repeat  this  after  every  rain,  or  when  for  any 
cause  the  ashes  have  been  blown  or  washed  off  the  leaves 
of  the  plant.  This  will  absolutely  prevent  damage  from 
the  cucumber  bug  and  you  ought  to  have  no  loss  from  that 
source.  The  ashes  not  only  do  no  harm  but  are  a  decided 
benefit  in  that  they  contain  valuable  fertilizing  material 
in  the  shape  of  potash.  Don't  use  coal  ashes.  Always 
use  wood  ashes.  If  you  haven't  any  wood  ashes  a  light 
application  of  air-slaked  lime  will  be  of  great  benefit. 

Ordinarily  cucumbers  are  allowed  to  run  along  the 
ground.  I  have  found  that  the  output  from  a  small  tract 
is  very  greatly  increased  if  a  trellis  is  provided  and  the 
vines  are  trained  up  on  this.  This  accomplishes  a  num- 
ber of  purposes.  In  the  first  place  the  vines  are  off  the 
ground  and  are  not  injured  during  the  process  of  culti- 
vation or  picking  the  cucumbers.  This  is  exceedingly  im- 
portant. Furthermore,  it  is  then  easily  possible  to  see 
every  cucumber  when  it  attains  the  proper  size  for  pick- 
ing/ If  the  vines  are  on  the  ground,  some  which  are 
overlooked  ripen  and  this  to  a  large  extent  weakens  the 
vitality  of  the  plant.  This  trellis  is  very  easily  made, 
costs  practically  nothing,  and  the  only  attention  that  must 
be  given  is  that  as  soon  as  the  vines  are  2  feet  or  so  long 
they  will  have  to  be  tied  up  to  the  trellis.  After  that 
they  will  practically  take  care  of  themselves. 

The  most  distinctive  feature  of  the  garden  on  the  farm 
should  be  the  reduction  of  hand  labor  to  a  minimum.  In 
planting  the  garden,  therefore,  it  should  be  laid  out  in 
long  rows,  sufficiently  far  apart  to  permit  the  use  of  a 
horse  and  cultivator  in  tending  the  crops. 

The  arrangement  of  the  garden  as  to  length  of  rows 
and  time  of  planting,  is  not  the  only  labor  saving  feature 
that  should  characterize  the  typical  farmer's  garden. 
Field  methods  should  be  practiced  in  preparing  the  land 
for  planting,  and  as  much  preliminary  work  done  in  the 


208  PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING 

fall  as  is  possible,  for  the  sake  of  both  securing  an  early 
garden  and  reducing  the  amount  of  labor  in  spring. 
After  the  land  is  cleared  of  refuse  from  preceding  crops, 
it  should  be  heavily  manured,  and  plowed  in  the  fall.  The 
amount  of  manure  to  be  applied  will  depend  somewhat 
upon  the  fertility  of  the  land,  but  more  largely  upon  the 
trueness  of  the  farmer's  conception  of  the  plant  food 
requirements  of  garden  crops.  The  best  gardens  are 
possible  only  where  plant  food  is  supplied  much  more 
liberally  than  is  considered  ample  for  field  crops. 

The  most  tedious  labor  in  the  ordinary  garden  is  the 
hand  weeding  of  the  small  vegetables.  By  proper  man- 
agement of  the  garden  a  large  amount  of  this  labor  can 
be  eliminated.  One  way  to  avoid  excessive  labor  in  hand 
weeding  is  to  keep  weed  seeds  out  of  the  garden  as  much 
as  possible,  by  avoiding  the  use  of  manure  containing 
such  seeds,  and  by  destroying  all  weeds  in  and  about  the 
garden  before  they  go  to  seed,  even  if  they  appear  after 
the  crops  are  harvested.  But  in  spite  of  all  that  can  be 
done  there  will  always  be  weed  seeds  present  in  garden 
soil.  The  way  to  prevent  these  from  producing  weeds 
that  are  larger  than  the  vegetable  plants  and  endangering 
the  life  of  the  latter,  is  to  keep  them  from  starting  growth 
before  the  vegetables  have  a  chance  to  start.  This  is 
done  by  working  the  soil  immediately  before  the  vegeta- 
ble seeds  are  planted,  thus  killing  any  weed  seedlings  that 
are  about  to  appear  above  the  surface,  and  giving  the 
vegetables  an  even  start  with  the  weeds  that  may  develop 
from  seeds  germinating  later.  Still  another  way  of  re- 
ducing the  amount  of  hand  weeding  is  to  cultivate  very 
close  to  the  rows  with  a  wheel  hoe  as  soon  as  the  vege- 
table seedlings  appear. 

Some  crops  demand  special  training  or  other  manipula- 
tion to  enable  them  to  grow  to  the  best  advantage  or  de- 
velop the  most  desirable  product.  Common  Lima  beans 
and  tall  growing  peas  require  artificial  support  in  the 


PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING  209 

form  of  poles  and  brush  or  wire  netting  respectively. 
Except  in  a  region  where  native  timber  is  abundant  it 
may  be  inconvenient  or  expensive  to  provide  these  sup- 
ports, to  say  nothing  of  the  labor  of  preparing  and  in- 
stalling them.  Therefore,  it  may  be  advisable  in  some 
cases  to  resort  to  the  use  of  dwarf  varieties  exclusively. 

Other  crops  demanding  special  handling  are  cauli- 
flower, leeks,  celery  and  endive,  all  of  which  require 
blanching  to  develop  a  satisfactory,  edible  product.  In 
the  case  of  the  cauliflower,  the  head  must  be  protected 
from  the  sun  by  tying  the  leaves  or  otherwise  securing 
them  over  the  top.  Endive  likewise  is  blanched  by  tying 
up  the  outer  leaves  so  that  the  inner  portion  of  the  plant 
will  be  protected  from  the  sun.  With  both  these  crops, 
the  blanching  plants  must  be  closely  watched,  so  that  they 
may  be  used  when  they  have  reached  the  right  stage  of 
development.  Leeks  and  celery  are  usually  blanched  by 
hilling  up  with  earth,  though  an  early  crop  of  celery  is 
sometimes  blanched  by  means  of  boards  placed  edgewise 
along  the  row.  When  earth  is  used,  care  must  be  ex- 
ercised to  avoid  getting  dirt  down  in  the  "hearts"  of  the 
plants,  and  repeated  bankings  are  necessary.  This  is  a 
somewhat  laborious  process  unless  a  person  is  equipped 
with  special  tools,  and  at  best  there  is  much  labor  and 
expense  involved  in  the  production  of  a  good  crop  of 
celery. 

The  labor  of  growing  some  crops  is  enhanced  by  the 
necessity  of  transplanting.  The  crops  usually  trans- 
planted are  cabbage,  cauliflower,  celery,  eggplant,  pepper, 
sweet  potato  and  tomato ;  and  an  early  crop  of  any  of 
these  sorts  cannot  be  secured  without  it,  for  the  seed  must 
be  started  in  hot-beds  long  before  the  weather  is  suitable 
for  planting  these  crops  in  the  open.  The  making  and 
care  of  hot-beds  in  which  plants  are  usually  started  en- 
tails considerable  labor,  as  well  as  the  process  of  trans- 
planting.   Late  crops  of  cabbage  and  tomatoes  are  some- 


210  PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING 

times  grown  from  seed  sown  where  the  crop  is  to  mature, 
and  late  cauliflower  and  celery  may  be  started  in  care- 
fully prepared  seed  beds  in  the  open,  thus  obviating  the 
labor  involved  in  the  care  of  a  hot-bed. 

There  is  a  tendency  for  some  gardeners  to  leave  the 
plants  of  carrots,  onions,  and  similar  vegetables  too  thick, 
or  to  defer  the  thinning  too  long,  with  the  intention  of 
making  use  of  the  thinnings.  Usually  this  is  a  serious 
error,  except  in  the  case  of  beets,  which  can  be  used  quite 
young  for  greens.  The  crowded  seedlings  do  not  reach 
edible  size  as  soon  as  they  would  if  not  crowded;  and 
the  removal  of  part  of  the  crowded  plants  when  they  are 
wanted  for  the  table  is  likely  to  seriously  disturb  and  im- 
pair the  growth  of  those  which  remain.  A  better  plan  is 
to  make  at  least  a  preliminary  thinning  as  early  as  possi- 
ble, leaving  the  plants  perhaps  twice  as  thick  as  they  are 
eventually  to  stand ;  and  then  to  pull  out  every  other  plant 
after  they  reach  edible  size.  This  method  of  thinning  is 
especially  adapted  to  beets,  carrots,  lettuce  and  onions. 
The  other  root  crops,  like  parsnips  and  salsify,  should 
be  thinned  to  the  full  distance  at  the  first  thinning. 

Celery  is  an  exceedingly  profitable  crop  and  one  can 
make  it  pay  either  by  starting  with  seed  or  procuring 
plants.  The  latter  may  be  set  out  in  July  or  August  after 
some  other  crop  has  been  raised  on  the  ground. 

The  best  location  for  celery  is  a  moist,  cool  spot,  of 
rich  loamy  soil  protected  from  the  wind.  Enrich  the  soil 
heavily  with  well-rotted  stable  manure.  Give  deep  plow- 
ing and  cultivate  thoroughly,  in  order  to  have  the  ground 
mellow  at  the  time  of  transplanting. 

Setting  plants  in  furrows,  in  trenches  and  on  the  level 
surface  are  methods  employed  by  various  growers.  Good 
results  have  been  attained  in  the  following  way:  Mark 
off  rows  four  feet  apart  and  furrow  with  stirring  plow, 
turning  the  ridges  in  the  same  direction.  Set  the  plants 
six  inches  apart  in  the  side  of  the  furrow  next  the  ridge 


PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING  211 

and  a  little  above  the  bottom.  In  subsequent  cultivation 
keep  the  furrows  open  and  use  them  as  ditches  for  water 
in  case  of  drought. 

Thorough  cultivation  should  be  the  rule  from  the  start. 
Permit  no  weeds  to  grow.  The  ground  should  be  culti- 
vated after  each  application  of  water. 

When  the  plants  have  attained  the  proper  size  for  use, 
the  leaves  are  brought  into  an  upright  position  by  boards 
placed  on  either  side  of  the  row,  so  that  they  slope  toward 
the  plants  at  the  top,  or  else  by  dirt  drawn  against  the 
plants  and  packed  firmly  around  them.  The  object  of  this 
is  to  cause  the  leaves  to  take  an  upright  position  and  ex- 
clude the  light  from  the  heart  of  the  plant,  so  that  the 
latter  growth  is  white  or  "bleached."  The  process  of 
bleaching  requires  from  two  to  four  weeks,  depending 
upon  the  variety  and  time  of  year. 

After  the  bleaching  process  is  carried  as  far  as  de- 
sired, the  plants  may  be  dug.  For  early  celery  this  may 
be  done  in  September,  but  the  late  crop  should  not  be 
taken  up  until  there  is  danger  from  freezing.  The  plants 
are  usually  lifted  with  a  spade  or  potato  fork,  and  the 
decayed  outer  leaves  removed.  They  are  then  ready  for 
storing. 

Beets,  carrots,  turnips,  rutabagas  and  Irish  potatoes 
can  be  stored  in  outdoor  pits,  but  they  must  be  covered 
sufficiently  to  prevent  freezing.  One  of  the  best  ways  of 
handling  these  crops  is  to  place  them  in  a  conical  pile  and 
cover  first  with  six  or  eight  inches  of  hay  or  straw,  then 
with  earth  to  a  similar  depth. 

Celery  may  be  stored  in  various  ways,  but  one  of  the 
most  satisfactory  methods  for  home  use  is  to  dig  the 
plants  with  the  roots  on,  and  plant  them  in  moist  earth 
placed  on  the  cellar  floor,  or  in  boxes  to  be  placed  in  the 
cellar.  In  either  case,  the  cellar  must  be  cool,  the  ventila- 
tion good,  and  the  earth  surrounding  the  roots  kept  moist 
by  repeated  applications  of  water.    In  applying  the  water, 


212  PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING 

care  must  be  taken  to  wet  only  the  roots  and  not  the  tops 
of  the  plants.  If  the  cellar  is  kept  dark,  all  new  growth 
made  during  the  winter  will  be  thoroughly  blanched. 

Cabbage  intended  for  late  winter  use  will  keep  better 
in  an  outdoor  pit  than  in  a  cellar.  The  same  is  true  of 
parsnips,  salsify,  horseradish  and  some  of  the  other  root 
crops.  Except  where  the  ground  is  especially  well 
drained,  the  pits  are  usually  made  entirely  above  ground. 
For  storing  cabbage  in  this  manner,  the  plants  are  pulled 
with  the  roots  and  leaves  on,  and  placed  upside  down  in 
regular  order  on  a  level  piece  of  ground. 

Onions  intended  for  winter  use  should  be  cured  as  soon 
as  possible  after  harvesting,  by  being  kept  in  a  dry  place 
where  the  air  can  circulate  freely  about  them.  Some 
growers  spread  their  onions  in  a  thin  layer  on  the  floor 
of  the  corn  crib ;  others  place  them  in  shallow,  slatted 
trays  stacked  under  an  open  shed,  or  exposed  to  the  sun 
during  the  day  and  placed  under  cover  at  night.  The 
bulbs  may  also  be  spread  thinly  on  the  floor  of  a  barn  loft 
or  the  attic  of  a  house.  No  matter  where  they  are  placed, 
they  must  be  kept  dry  and  have  a  free  circulation  of  air 
about  them. 

Tomatoes,  cabbage,  sweet  potatoes  and  other  vege- 
tables and  garden  plants  and  especially  those  which  are 
started  under  glass  and  transplanted,  are  subject  to 
serious  injury  by  cutworms.  They  appear  sometimes  in 
great  numbers  in  spring  and  early  summer  and  frequently 
do  severe  damage  before  their  ravages  are  noticed.  The 
method  of  attack  is  to  cut  off  the  young  plants  at  about 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  as  these  insects  are  of 
large  size  and  voracious  feeders  they  are  capable  of  de- 
stroying many  plants  in  a  single  night,  frequently  more 
than  they  can  devour.  During  the  past  two  years  these 
insects,  working  generally  throughout  the  United  States, 
destroyed  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of 
crops.     By  the  timely  application  of  remedies,  however, 


PRACTICAL  STUDY  OF  GARDENING  213 

it  was  found  that  these  insects  could  be  readily  controlled, 
large  areas  being  successfully  treated.  The  usual  method 
of  control  is  by  the  use  of  poisoned  baits. 

Take  a  bushel  of  dry  bran,  add  one  pound  of  arsenic 
or  Paris  green,  and  mix  it  thoroughly  into  a  mash  with 
eight  gallons  of  water,  in  which  has  been  stirred  half  a 
gallon  of  molasses.  After  the  mash  has  stood  several 
hours,  scatter  it  in  lumps  of  about  the  size  of  a  marble 
over  the  fields  where  injury  is  beginning  to  appear  and 
about  the  bases  of  the  plants  set  out.  Apply  late  in  the 
day  so  as  to  place  the  poison  about  the  plants  over  night, 
which  is  the  time  when  the  cut  worms  are  active.  Apply 
a  second  time  if  necessary.  Where  garden  maggots  or 
other  small  insects  have  appeared,  treat  the  soil  with 
tobacco  or  kerosene  emulsion. 

Cucumbers  and  squash  have  the  same  enemies,  but  the 
beetle  will  leave  the  cucumber  for  the  squash,  which 
induces  some  growers  to  plant  a  few  squash-vines  near 
cucumbers  in  order  to  trap  the  beetles. 

Late  blight  of  potatoes  causes  extremely  heavy  damage 
some  years,  the  extent  depending  largely  upon  weather 
conditions.  It  is  most  likely  to  appear  during  damp, 
sultry  weather  in  August  and  September.  Where  the 
disease  has  been  prevalent  in  recent  seasons  the  only 
safe  method  is  to  spray  thoroughly  throughout  the  sum- 
mer so  as  to  ward  off  possible  attacks.  The  disease  is 
caused  by  a  parasitic  fungus  which  attacks  the  stems 
and  under  portions  of  the  leaves,  spreading  in  favorable 
weather  with  extreme  rapidity  and  sometimes  wilting  an 
entire  field  in  the  course  of  48  hours.  It  can  scarcely  be 
checked  by  spraying,  but  its  appearance  can  be  prevented 
by  this  method. 


Commercial  Value  of  Garden  Flowers 

Nearly  all  the  common,  hardy  flowers  have  great  com- 
mercial value.  It  is  possible  for  farm  families  to  greatly 
increase  their  income  by  raising  such  a  variety  of  flowers 
as  can  be  grown  on  an  acre  or  less. 

The  aster  is  a  favorite  in  the  markets  and  is  a  money- 
maker for  those  who  have  taste  and  skill  in  gardening. 
The  evolution  of  the  aster  in  the  past  five  years  has  been 
something  wonderful. 

Persistent  effort  on  the  part  of  growers  induced  the 
plain,  unpretentious  little  China  Aster  of  our  grand- 
mothers' day  to  bestir  itself  with  most  gratifying  results. 

The  magnificent  chrysanthemum-like  blooms  of  the 
present  day  bear  little  resemblance  to  their  Chinese  an- 
cestors. To  become  familiar  with  the  possibilities  of  this 
old  friend  in  its  new  development,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
look  at  the  displays  in  florists'  windows  during  August 
and  September. 

This  will  suggest,  too,  many  commercial  possibilities  of 
aster  culture.  Last  year  an  acquaintance  of  mine  mar- 
keted nearly  $300  worth  of  asters,  grown  on  the  rear  of  a 
city  lot. 

There  is  nothing  difficult  or  complicated  about  aster 
culture.  The  plants  are  usually  free  from  bothersome 
insects,  and  if  given  half  a  chance  they  attend  strictly  to 
business,  and  flower  within  two  months  after  they  have 
been  transplanted  to  the  garden. 

It  is  not  best  to  raise  them  two  successive  years  in 
the  same  soil,  and  one  should  have  well  rooted  plants 

214 


COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS  215 

ready  to  set  out  by  the  first  of  July,  earlier  if  blossoms 
are  desired  before  September. 

Procure  seed  of  the  large  variety  from  some  reliable 
seed  house.  Plant  in  April  in  boxes  of  sifted  earth.  You 
will  find  cigar  boxes  just  right  for  this  purpose,  as  they 
will  be  light  to  handle,  and  are  just  right  for  standing 
upon  a  window-sill,  if  one  has  to  grow  them  in  the  liv- 
ing room. 

Make  four  drills  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  deep, 
the  length  of  the  box.  Put  about  eight  seeds  to  the  inch 
in  the  drill,  and  cover  with  earth.  Pat  down  and  keep 
moist.  The  boxes  may  be  placed  near  the  heat,  where 
the  earth  will  be  kept  warm,  if  the  top  is  kept  well  mois- 
tened. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  covered  with  wet  moss, 
or  if  moss  cannot  be  had,  place  a  cloth  over  the  box 
to  prevent  evaporation.  If  the  seed  is  fresh,  and  the 
earth  kept  warm,  the  plants  will  appear  by  the  fourth  day. 

The  box  will  then  be  uncovered  and  placed  in  a  strong 
light,  or  the  little  plants  will  grow  long,  weak  stems. 
Aster-plants  cannot  be  given  too  much  sunlight.  As  often 
as  the  weather  will  permit,  place  the  boxes  of  young  plants 
outside  in  the  sunlight,  but  sheltered  from  the  strong 
wind. 

When  the  plants  have  their  fourth  leaf,  they  should 
be  transplanted.  Place  them  an  inch  apart  in  flats — boxes 
containing  earth  two  inches  in  depth.  As  soon  as  they 
are  well  established  in  these  new  quarters,  give  an  abund- 
ance of  water,  and  their  growth  will  amaze  you. 

They  should  be  kept  outside  all  of  the  time  after  being 
placed  in  the  flats.  Watch  out  for  frosty  nights,  how- 
ever, for  aster-plants  will  not  stand  even  a  little  frost. 
Meanwhile,  during  the  time  that  the  plants  are  growing 
in  the  flats,  we  must  be  preparing  the  plot  in  the  gar- 
den. Any  rich  soil  is  suitable  for  asters.  Of  course  the 
richer,  the  better. 


216  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS 

Spade  or  plow  them  deep  in  April.  Keep  working  it  oc- 
casionally until  time  to  place  the  plants  in  it.  If  at  trans- 
planting time  the  soil  seems  at  all  hard,  spade  again. 

You  will  find  that  all  of  this  preliminary  working  of 
the  land  will  make  the  subsequent  cultivation  easy. 
Nearly  all  the  weed  growth  has  been  destroyed. 

The  plants  will  only  need  attention  after  every  rain, 
when  it  will  be  necessary  to  break  the  crust  to  prevent 
too  rapid  evaporation.  In  case  of  drought,  keep  the  top 
soil  well  stirred. 

If  you  water  at  all,  give  a  thorough  wetting,  and  pro- 
ceed after  it  the  same  as  after  a  rain.  This  plan  is  bet- 
ter than  a  daily  sprinkling.  The  plants  should  be  about 
ten  inches  apart  in  the  row,  and  the  rows  can  be  as  close 
together  as  will  permit  of  proper  cultivation — twelve  to 
fifteen   inches. 

If  you  are  growing  your  asters  for  the  market,  or  for 
large  blooms  and  long  stems,  rather  than  for  a  mass  of 
blossoms,  you  should  remove  all  but  six  branches  from 
each  plant.    Remove  them  as  soon  as  they  appear. 

Six  flowers  are  all  that  one  plant  can  mature  and 
give  you  large,  long-stemmed  blossoms.  If  you  are  work- 
ing for  still  larger  flowers,  let  each  plant  bear  only  three. 

You  will  find  that  on  these  remaining  flower-stalks 
there  will  be  a  bud  form  at  the  base  of  every  leaf.  These 
must  be  carefully  removed.  This  disbudding  operation 
is  really  about  all  the  work  there  is  to  aster  cultivation, 
after  the  plants  have  been  transplanted  into  their  per- 
manent quarters. 

As  a  cut  flower  the  aster  has  very  few  rivals.  Its 
keeping  qualities  are  not  surpassed  even  by  the  chrys- 
anthemum. Its  range  of  color  is  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
equal  to  that  flower.  For  three  seasons  now  I  have 
found  a  ready  market  for  choice,  long-stemmed  asters, 
at  fifty  cents  a  dozen.     The  demand  seems  unlimited. 

While  asters  are  easier  to  manage  than  other  flowers, 


COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS  217 

it  will  be  found  that  dahlias,  gladioli  and  nasturtiums  fit 
naturally  into  the  gardening  scheme  and  give  great  pleas- 
ure. 

Dahlias  can  be  raised  from  seed,  or  from  small  plants 
supplied  by  dealers,  but  neither  of  these  methods  is  as 
satisfactory  as  starting  them  from  dormant  tubers.  Do 
not  plant  an  undivided  bunch  of  tubers.  Best  results  are 
obtained  from  placing  one,  never  more  than  two,  tubers 
in  a  hill.    If  two  are  used  they  are  not  separated. 

Plant  them  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  apart  each 
way.  Place  the  tubers  about  four  inches  in  the  earth. 
Let  only  one  sprout  or  plant  grow  from  a  hill.  Some 
tubers  will  send  up  several,  but  they  must  be  removed  as 
soon  as  they  become  visible  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Stake  early  and  tie  plants  to  the  stake  with 
strips  of  cloth.  It  is  imperative  that  they  be  kept  well 
tied  to  their  support.  While  the  plants  are  self-sup- 
porting, they  are  full  of  sap  and  very  brittle.  A  wind 
storm  will  ruin  dahlias  if  they  are  not  tied  securely  to 
their  stakes. 

From  each  tuber  planted  in  the  spring  you  should  in 
the  fall  have  a  clump  of  from  three  to  five  with  which 
to  start  your  next  season's  plants. 

Keep  top  soil  loose  around  your  plants,  but  do  not  cul- 
tivate deeply  after  they  have  commenced  to  make  rapid 
growth.  Dahlias  throw  out  a  network  of  threadlike  roots 
quite  near  the  surface,  and  in  cultivating  great  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  injure  these  roots.  In  midsum- 
mer supply  a  top-mulch  of  barn-yard  manure  if  you  can 
procure  it;  if  not,  use  lawn  clippings.  Make  this  dress- 
ing as  thick  as  you  can,  up  to  eight  inches.  Your  dahlias 
will  need  no  further  care  other  than  to  keep  them  prop- 
erly tied  to  stakes  and  the  blossoms  well  cut. 

Gladioli  have  been  termed  the  poor  man's  orchids. 
Anybody  can  grow  them  and  in  almost  any  soil,  although 
they  have  a  special  liking  for  rich  loam.     Many  of  the 


218  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS 

newer  sorts  are  wonderfully  beautiful,  and  one  of  the 
advantages  of  the  gladiolus  is  the  fact  that  the  blos- 
soms will  last  for  two  weeks  or  more  when  cut,  if  the 
cutting  is  done  just  before  the  first  flower  on  the  stalk 
opens.  Then,  day  after  day,  the  other  blossoms  will  un- 
fold, until  the  stalk  is  full  of  glorious  color. 

The  bulbs  should  be  planted  four  inches  deep,  and 
care  should  be  taken  to  have  them  go  in  the  ground 
right  side  up.  If  the  soil  is  kept  stirred,  less  water  will 
be  necessary,  and  the  plants  will  respond  with  extra  fine 
flowers.  If  one  desires  a  long  blooming  season  of 
gladioli,  plantings  should  be  made  every  two  weeks  from 
April  to  June.  They  may  be  planted  in  rows  eighteen 
inches  apart  and  six  inches  in  the  row.  One  particular 
advantage  of  the  gladiolus  is  the  fact  that  it  is  seldom 
attacked  by  insect  pests  or  plant  diseases.  These  flowers 
also  have  commercial  possibilities.  One  has  only  to  study 
florists'  windows  during  the  summer  and  fall  to  be  con- 
vinced of  this  fact. 

Pansies  prefer  a  partly  shaded  location  and  salvia 
thrives  best  in  full  sunshine.    A  late  mulch  benefits  salvia. 

Keep  your  pansy  blossoms  picked.  Let  no  seeds  form. 
In  early  winter  cover  with  a  layer  of  leaves  and  place  a 
few  branches  on  top  to  prevent  the  wind  from  blowing 
the  leaves  away.  Remove  the  covering  early  in  the  spring 
and  you  will  probably  find  buds  already  showing  color, 
and  it  will  not  be  long  until  you  have  plenty  of  these 
charming  blossoms.  Start  mignonette  and  nasturtiums  in 
the  plot  where  they  are  to  grow.  Both  varieties  are  rapid 
growers. 

The  beautiful  lily-of-the-valley  succeeds  outside,  in 
almost  any  location,  but  prefers  shade  and  plenty  of 
moisture.  When  it  is  once  planted  and  becomes  estab- 
lished, the  crowns  keep  increasing,  the  large  ones  flower- 
ing each  year  without  any  attention  beyond  the  applica- 
tion of  a  top-dressing  of  manure  or  rich  soil  in  the  fall. 


COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS  219 

Lilies-of-the-valley  may  be  propagated  by  seeds,  which 
ripen  freely  if  allowed,  and  should  be  sown  in  the  spring 
outside.  The  usual  method  of  propagation,  however,  is 
by  the  numerous  crowns  which  form  at  the  joints  of 
creeping  roots,  or  underground  stems.  If  the  crowns  are 
allowed  to  grow  undisturbed,  they  become  too  thickly 
crowded,  and  do  not  produce  such  fine  flowers  as  when 
more  space  is  afforded. 

Select  and  prepare  a  piece  of  ground  in  a  border,  with 
either  an  east  or  west  aspect.  It  should  be  manured  and 
well  trenched.  The  crowns  should  be  lifted  in  the  fall,  or 
at  any  time  before  growth  commences  in  the  spring,  and 
placed  together,  according  to  their  size. 

In  planting,  a  shallow  trench  should  be  cut  out,  the 
crowns  placed  upright  in  it  about  two  inches  apart,  so 
that  their  points  are  just  below  the  surface,  and  the  soil 
filled  in.  Other  trenches  may  then  be  prepared  and 
planted  in  a  similar  way,  leaving  a  space  of  about  nine 
inches  between  them.  Hoe  occasionally  to  keep  the  sur- 
face open  and  clean,  and  watering  in  dry  weather,  until 
the  leaves  dry  away,  will  be  all  that  is  necessary  after- 
ward. Crowns  thus  treated  may  be  lifted  for  forcing  the 
following  winter,  if  required,  but  they  are  much  stronger 
if  allowed  to  stay  until  the  second  year.  The  crowns  to 
be  used  for  early  forcing  should  be  placed  rather  thickly 
in  pots  or  boxes,  and  a  little  light  soil  shaken  among  the 
roots;  but  not  over  the  tops.  They  should  be  covered 
with  moss. 

Another  plan  is  to  insert  them  similarly  in  propaga- 
tion frames,  and  pot  up  as  they  come  into  flower.  The 
roots  do  not  grow  during  this  period,  consequently  it  is 
immaterial  which  method  is  adopted.  Plunge  in  a  bot- 
tom heat  of  about  85  degrees,  and  if  possible  maintain  a 
surface  temperature  of  10  degrees  less.  This  will  en- 
courage the  production  of  leaves  and  flowers  and  at  the 
same    time — conditions    not    readily    obtained    with    the 


220  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  FLOWERS 

earlier  supplies.  If  pots  or  boxes  are  used,  empty  ones 
of  similar  size  may  be  inverted  over  them  to  keep  the 
crown  dark.  This  is  considered  beneficial  in  assisting 
to  start  them  into  growth. 

It  is  important  that  the  soil  be  placed  as  lightly  as 
possible  around  the  roots,  in  order  that  the  heat  may 
pass  through  readily.  Water  of  the  same  temperature 
should  be  given  to  keep  the  whole  well  moistened.  The 
very  earliest  batch  sometimes  fails ;  but  if  the  crowns  are 
good,  and  proper  attention  is  given  in  forcing,  each  of  the 
later  ones  may  be  relied  upon  to  produce  flowers. 

Grown  in  pots,  and  forced  into  flower  early  in  the 
spring,  the  lily-of-the-valley  constitutes  an  invaluable 
subject  for  decoration.  The  natural  flowering  season  is 
May.  By  obtaining  a  plentiful  supply  of  crowns,  and 
forcing  carefully,  the  season  may  commence  in  January, 
and  a  succession  of  flowers  be  secured  thenceforth  until 
June. 


Making  and  Care  of  Hotbeds  and  Cold  Frames 

The  cold  frame  and  hotbed  are  worthy  of  much  wider 
attention  than  they  now  enjoy.  With  their  aid  the  autumn 
season  can  be  prolonged  and  the  spring  season  hastened. 
They  will  yield  herbs  and  salads  in  variety  in  early  spring 
and  hasten  the  starting  of  summer  crops.  To  the  flower 
lover  they  are  a  real  necessity  for  the  carrying  of  many 
things  through  the  winter,  and  few  people  indeed  have 
ever  fully  developed  the  possibilities  of  pleasure  possessed 
by  an  ordinary  glass-covered  frame. 

The  function  of  a  cold  frame  is  to  ward  off  cold  winds, 
to  keep  the  ground  clear  of  snow,  and  in  the  spring  to 
increase  the  feeble  heat  of  the  slanting  sunbeams,  and 
thus  foster  plant  growth. 

The  construction  is  simple.  The  back  board  is  usually 
twelve  inches  and  the  front  eight  inches  wide.  The  two 
are  connected  by  a  tapered  board  twelve  inches  wide  at 
one  end  and  eight  inches  at  the  other.  Standard  sash  are 
3x6  feet,  and  it  takes  a  box  of  6x8  inch  glass  to  glaze 
three  sash.  The  frame  work  can  be  readily  made  by  a 
local  carpenter  or  any  one  handy  with  tools;  and  when 
complete  the  frame  is  set  in  a  sheltered,  well-drained 
position,  usually  near  the  house. 

A  cold  frame  is  simply  a  frame  having  sash,  but  no 
other  means  of  heating.  Fill  the  frame  with  soil  6  inches 
deep  in  front  and  8  or  9  inches  at  the  back ;  make  shal- 
low drills,  3  inches  or  4  inches  apart,  across  the  face  of 
the  soil  in  the  frame,  and  in  these  sow  the  seeds,  covering 
them  thinly  and  tamping  them  gently;  then  water  mod- 
erately through  a  fine  hose.     Now  put  on  the  sash,  and 

221 


222  MAKING  AND  CARE  OF  HOTBEDS 

keep  all  snug  and  warm  until  the  seedlings  appear,  when 
the  sashes  should  be  tilted  up  during  the  day  to  admit 
fresh  air  freely  and  make  the  plants  sturdy.  As  the 
seedlings  wax  in  strength,  remove  the  sash  both  day  and 
night,  in  fine  weather,  but  replace  it  as  a  protection 
against  wet,  muggy  or  cold  weather.  As  soon  as  the 
plants  are  big  enough,  transplant  them  into  the  open 
garden. 

In  sowing  in  a  cold  frame,  carefully  observe  that  the 
kinds  of  plants  are  of  somewhat  the  same  nature, 
strength  and  time  of  germinating.  When  this  is  not  the 
case,  or  there  is  any  uncertainty  about  it,  better  sow  in 
pots,  pans  or  flats,  and  set  these  close  together  in  the 
frame;  as  the  seedlings  appear  in  the  pots  or  flats,  re- 
move these  to  the  lightest,  sunniest  place  in  the  frame, 
and  the  ungerminated  ones  keep  by  themselves.  After- 
wards as  regards  transplanting,  treat  as  directed  above 
in  the  manner  of  seed  sown  in  the  frame. 

A  hotbed  is  a  cold  frame  placed  upon  a  quantity  of 
fermenting  manure.  The  hotbed  is  usually  made  ready 
in  February  or  March.  In  the  preparation  of  the  manure 
it  is  best  to  collect  the  requisite  amount  from  the  horse 
stable,  and  make  it  into  a  compact  heap,  watering  it  if 
dry.  In  a  few  days  active  fermentation  will  be  in  prog- 
ress, when  the  heap  should  be  turned,  watering  again  if 
necessary,  shaking  out  the  lumps.  The  aim  is  to  induce 
an  active  and  uniform  fermentation  of  the  whole  mass, 
and  to  have  it  continue  for  some  time  after  the  soil  is 
placed  on  it. 

Select  a  well-drained  spot,  and  make  the  pile  of  manure 
eight  or  nine  feet  wide  by  whatever  length  is  necessary, 
with  a  depth  of  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches ;  or  a  foot  of 
soil  may  be  dug  out  and  filled  in  with  manure,  well 
tramped  down.  Place  the  frame  on  it.  Then  put  three 
or  four  inches  of  good  soil  uniformly  over  the  surface. 


MAKING  AND  CARE  OF  HOTBEDS  223 

Some  manure  or  soil  can  be  thrown  up  against  the  outer 
boards,  which  will  help  to  hold  the  heat ;  put  on  the  sash 
and  keep  tight  for  three  or  four  days.  There  should  be 
a  thermometer  kept  in  the  hotbed,  and  when  the  tem- 
perature falls  to  70  degrees  seed  may  be  sown  with 
safety.  The  temperature  in  a  hotbed  should  not  be 
allowed  to  go  above  70  degrees  in  the  day,  nor  below  50 
at  night.  Seeds  may  be  sown  in  it  in  the  same  way  as 
specified  in  the  case  of  a  cold  frame,  but  it  is  safer  for 
the  amateur  to  sow  in  pots,  pans  or  flats  than  to  sow  in 
the  earth-bed  of  the  hotbed.  While  a  hotbed  is  new 
it  is  well  to  always  keep  a  chink  of  ventilation  to  allow 
the  discharge  of  "steam"  or  ammonia;  if  not,  a  damp 
mould  will  spread  over  the  seed-pots  or  the  seedlings  will 
rot  off.  Keep  the  sprouted  seeds  by  themselves,  and  the 
pots  of  unsprouted  ones  by  themselves;  give  increased 
light  and  ventilation  to  the  former.  As  regards  harden- 
ing off  and  transplanting,  treat  as  for  cold  frames.  A 
hotbed  should  be  covered  overhead  with  straw  mats  or 
carpet  at  night  in  cold  weather  to  conserve  the  heat,  but 
this  covering  should  be  removed  in  the  daytime. 

With  a  hotbed  the  amateur  can  start  almost  any  kind 
of  vegetables  or  flower  seed.  By  sowing  such  vegetables 
as  eggplant,  pepper,  tomatoes,  etc.,  and  such  flower  seeds 
as  heliotrope,  scarlet  sage,  vinca,  verbenas,  etc.,  along  in 
March,  it  is  possible  to  have  nice  stocky  plants  ready  to 
set  out  as  soon  as  the  weather  conditions  are  favorable, 
insuring  early  returns  from  the  vegetables  and  a  long 
season  of  bloom  from  the  flowers. 

I  know  of  no  better  way  of  getting  the  youngsters  in- 
terested in  agricultural  matters  than  that  of  teaching 
them  how  to  make  and  care  for  the  hotbed. 

The  preparation  of  the  manure  is  not  such  a  particular 
job  as  is  generally  supposed,  but  the  simple  principle  in- 
volved is  not  generally  known. 


224  MAKING  AND  CARE  OF  HOTBEDS 

The  yeast  fungus,  when  once  introduced  into  a  manure 
heap  suitable  to  its  development,  spreads  rapidly,  and 
soon  has  the  whole  mass  in  a  state  of  heat. 

If  the  manure  is  very  hot,  the  soil  should  be  put  on  at 
once,  but  if  not,  the  sash  should  be  placed  over  the 
manure  for  a  few  days,  until  the  manure  is  well  heated, 
then  the  soil  put  on. 

The  bed  should  be  watched,  and  as  soon  as  the  seed  of 
weeds  which  are  in  the  soil  begin  to  come  up  all  over 
the  bed,  it  is  time  to  plant  the  garden  seed. 

Planting  the  seed  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  parts 
of  the  work.  To  put  the  tiny  seed  into  the  mellow  earth, 
and  in  a  few  days  see  the  little  plants  shove  their  heads 
up  to  the  light  of  day  is  well  worth  while. 

The  bed  should  be  marked  off  into  perfectly  straight 
rows  that  run  toward  the  rear  from  the  front  of  the 
frame,  the  depth  of  the  rows  to  correspond  with  the 
varieties  of  the  seeds  planted. 

The  seeds  of  eggplant,  tomatoes  and  peppers  are  thin, 
and  require  more  moisture  than  the  seed  of  cabbage  and 
other  vegetables  that  have  the  thick  or  round  seed,  and 
should  be  planted  deeper. 

The  main  object  is  to  plant  just  deep  enough,  so  that 
the  seed  will  not  dry  out  after  they  germinate,  and  be- 
fore they  are  well  up  and  started.  The  soil  should  not 
get  very  dry  any  time  after  the  seeds  are  planted,  or  even 
after  the  plants  are  up  and  growing. 


War  on  Field  and  Garden  Pests 

It  takes  a  lot  of  vigorous  effort  to  make  a  successful  war 
on  field  and  garden  pests,  which  annually  wipe  out  a 
large  part  of  farm  profits. 

The  cutworm  seems  to  have  been  about  as  destructive 
as  ever  in  recent  years,  and  some  orchardists  and  gar- 
deners have  felt  like  giving  up  in  despair.  Fungous 
diseases  and  other  destructive  agencies  also  have  gained 
ground. 

The  war  against  them  should  go  on,  however,  and  land 
owners  need  to  study  methods.  There  is  a  great  deal  at 
stake,  and  this  is  no  time  for  discouragement.  Plant 
diseases  and  insects  may  be  increased  by  continuously 
planting  one  crop  upon  the  same  field.  Every  crop  has 
its  peculiar  insect  enemies,  and  it  is  natural  to  assume 
that  these  enemies  will  be  more  numerous  the  second, 
third  or  fourth  year  the  same  crop  is  grown. 

The  cutworm  has  not  only  a  wide  distribution,  but  it  is 
a  promiscuous  feeder  as  well.  Scarcely  any  crop  of  field, 
garden  or  orchard  is  not  subject  to  attack.  It  may  clean 
vegetable  and  truck  gardens  absolutely.  It  not  only  takes 
potatoes,  sweet  potatoes,  lettuce,  beets,  carrots,  etc.,  but 
all  the  ornamentals  fall  before  its  voracious  appetite. 
When  very  numerous  it  destroys,  or  at  least  damages, 
alfalfa.  Apple,  pear,  peach,  currant,  blackberry,  rasp- 
berry, gooseberry,  grape  and  all  fruit  trees  are  victims 
of  this  gourmand. 

Spraying  with  paris  green,  one  pound  to  ioo  gallons 
of  water,  to  which  five  pounds  of  freshly  slaked  lime 
has  been  added,  will  often  save  vegetables.     Spraying 

225 


226  WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS 

alfalfa  or  other  succulent  vegetation  with  this  same  mix- 
ture, or  with  two  pounds  of  lead  arsenate  to  fifty  gallons 
of  water,  has  often  been  used  with  marked  success. 

A  poison  bran  mash  has  been  used  by  many  gardeners. 
A  pound  of  paris  green  to  forty  pounds  of  bran  should 
be  sweetened  either  by  use  of  cheap  sugar  or  molasses 
and  sufficient  water  added  to  make  a  stiff  mash.  Place  in 
small  bunches  near  the  plants  likely  to  be  attacked. 

Spray  orchard  trees  late  in  the  summer,  after  the  fruit 
has  been  gathered,  while  the  days  are  still  warm.  They 
also  need  spraying  just  after  the  blossoms  have  fallen  in 
the  spring.  In  bad  seasons  a  third  spraying  is  necessary. 
Use  both  an  insect  poison  and  a  fungus  poison,  applying 
both  at  once.  Use  lead  arsenate  or  paris  green  for  the 
insects  and  bordeaux  mixture  or  lime  sulphur  wash  for 
the  diseases.  Better  buy  the  lead  arsenate  and  lime  sul- 
phur already  prepared  unless  you  have  had  experience 
in  making  these  mixtures. 

The  codling  moth,  principal  cause  of  wormy  apples, 
is  responsible  for  an  annual  loss  in  the  United  States  of 
$12,000,000  in  fruit  and  an  expenditure  of  $3,000,000  to 
$4,000,000  for  sprays  and  labor  for  spraying.  However, 
spraying  with  arsenical  sprays  saves  90  to  95  per  cent  of 
the  crop. 

Spraying  machines  are  as  much  a  part  of  modern 
orchard  and  garden  tools  as  pruning  shears  and  culti- 
vators. There  is  not  an  orchard,  garden  or  farm  that 
would  not  be  better  for  their  use.  Indeed,  in  some  cases, 
it  is  almost  a  question  of  abandoning  the  cultivation  of 
certain  crops  or  the  use  of  spraying  machines  for  their 
protection.  It  is  quite  feasible  for  neighbors  to  co-oper- 
ate in  the  purchase  of  an  outfit. 

He  who  does  not  spray  from  this  time  on  will  be  left 
behind  in  the  race  for  success  in  the  market  and  his  sup- 
ply of  fruits  will  be  deficient  in  both  quantity  and  quality. 


WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS  227 

There  are  those  who  have  taken  advantage  of  the  aids  to 
practical  horticulture,  and  their  fruits  are  known  in  the 
markets  as  being  clean,  smooth  and  sound.  Anyone 
knows  how  poor  a  chance  for  sale  wormy,  knotty  or 
scabby  fruit  has  beside  that  which  is  nearly  perfect. 

Many  experts  declare  they  cannot  raise  fruit  success- 
fully unless  they  spray  at  the  end  of  the  blossoming 
period  and  again  after  the  fruit  has  gained  some  size. 
The  cutworm  is  particularly  destructive  and  hard  to  fight. 
These  insects  eat  the  buds  and  young  foliage  only  during 
the  night.  During  the  day  they  hide  at  the  base  of  the 
tree,  going  down  a  few  inches  into  the  soil. 

The  best  treatment  for  this  pest  is  to  scatter  poisoned 
bait  close  to  the  tree.  This  is  made  by  mixing  one 
pound  of  paris  green  to  twenty  pounds  of  bran,  then 
adding  one  or  two  quarts  of  molasses.  Work  up  with 
enough  water  to  make  a  stiff  mash.  Do  not  let  chickens 
have  access  to  this  poisoned  bran.  As  a  supplement  to 
this  treatment  spray  the  trees  with  bordeaux  mixture. 
The  same  scheme  of  treatment  will  answer  for  the  garden 
cutworms.  The  bordeaux  mixture  will  help  to  protect 
plants.  When  cutworms  attack  corn  or  other  crops  the 
poisoned  bran  scattered  in  the  fields  will  prove  effective. 

For  successful  coping  with  the  codling  moth  it  is 
essential  that  all  fallen  and  diseased  fruit  should  be 
gathered  and  destroyed.  Where  bandages  are  used  these 
should  be  removed  and  thoroughly  cleaned  or  destroyed. 
The  poison  used  with  best  results  in  killing  codling  moths 
is  arsenate  of  lead.  Bordeaux  mixture  or  a  lime-sulphur 
wash  is  added  as  a  fungicide. 

The  potato  beetle  is  one  of  the  worst  insect  enemies 
of  potatoes.  They  come  in  small  numbers,  first  laying 
clusters  of  orange-colored  eggs  on  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves.  Then  is  the  time  to  begin  to  destroy  them,  before 
they  have  had  time  to  do  much  injury.    The  eggs  hatch 


228  WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS 

in  about  a  week,  hence  if  the  plants  are  promptly  sprayed 
with  poison  the  young  will  be  killed  and  the  pest  reduced 
or  destroyed  altogether. 

Paris  green  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to  the  acre  in 
twenty-five  to  forty  gallons  of  water  is  a  common  remedy. 
It  is  also  used  in  connection  with  bordeaux  mixture,  the 
latter  killing  the  blight.  Lime  should  be  used  with  the 
paris  green.  Perhaps  a  better  insecticide  for  potatoes  is 
arsenate  of  lead,  applied  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  pounds 
to  the  acre  in  about  fifty  gallons  of  water  or  bordeaux 
mixture. 

The  cottony  maple  scale  is  one  of  the  best-known  in- 
sects because  it  heavily  infests  several  common  shade 
trees,  and  because  the  cottony  masses  beneath  the  body 
of  the  adult  female  in  summer  make  it  a  conspicuous 
object.  These  large  white  masses  are  a  deposit  of  waxy 
threads  within  which  are  the  minute,  oval,  pale  yellowish 
eggs.  The  soft  maple  is  the  tree  most  generally  infested 
by  this  insect.  The  boxelder  is  also  subject  to  injury,  and 
next  to  this,  perhaps,  the  linden  or  basswood. 

Among  the  other  trees  and  woody  plants  often  more 
or  less  injured  are  the  elm,  honey  locust,  black  locust, 
walnut,  sumac,  willow,  poplar,  beech,  hawthorn,  bitter- 
sweet, grapevine  and  Virginia  creeper.  The  common 
kerosene  emulsion,  made  by  mixing  kerosene  with  one- 
third  of  its  volume  of  strong  soapsuds,  is  a  satisfactory 
spray  and  should  be  applied  twice  in  the  summer.  Where 
caterpillars  are  usually  numerous  apply  arsenate  of  lead 
freely. 

The  government  has  shown  that  insect  pests  cause  a 
loss  of  about  ten  per  cent  on  nearly  all  crops.  The  an- 
nual damage  is  placed  at  $420,000,000.  The  cinch  bug 
wheat  pest  sometimes  costs  us  $20,000,000  a  year. 

The  boll  weevil  costs  the  cotton  planters  $20,000,000  a 
year. 


WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS  229 

The  tree-insect  pests  cost  the  nation  $100,000,000  a 
year. 

The  grasshoppers,  cutworms,  army  worms,  wire- 
worms,  leaf-hoppers  and  other  insects  cost  the  nation, 
annually,  more  millions  than  can  be  counted  separately; 
but  the  total  for  all  insect  pests  is  $420,000,000.  Now, 
have  we  not  paid  this  price  about  long  enough? 

The  value  of  the  birds  destroyed  as  "game"  and  for 
"food"  is  not  a  fraction  of  the  value  they  would  save  to 
the  national  wealth,  if  permitted  to  live.  Regarding  the 
slaughter  of  our  birds,  the  increase  of  insect  pests,  and 
the  losses  they  inflict  upon  us,  the  great  mass  of  the 
American  people  are  sound  asleep.  The  situation  is 
illogical,  absurd  and  intolerable. 

In  preparing  the  lime-sulphur  mixture  this  plan  may  be 
followed:  Sulphur,  15  pounds;  unslaked  lime,  20 
pounds;  use  an  iron  kettle,  thirty  to  sixty  gallons,  and 
some  sort  of  a  tank  equally  large  that  will  hold  hot  water. 
In  the  iron  kettle  heat  to  boiling  five  gallons  of  water. 
Add  the  lime  broken  into  small  pieces,  but  not  pulverized. 
Add  immediately  the  sulphur,  stirring  it  in  as  the  lime 
slakes.  Add  hot  water  as  necessary  to  keep  from  boiling 
over.  Boil  constantly  from  the  time  the  lime  is  put  in 
until  the  mixture  is  done.  Boil  for  an  hour  or  more  un- 
til properly  cooked,  when  it  will  be  of  a  dark  amber 
color.  Color  does  not  change  when  mixture  has  suf- 
ficiently cooked.  Add  hot  water  until  you  have  forty- 
five  gallons,  keep  stirred  and  strain  through  a  fine 
strainer  into  the  barrel  or  tank.  Spray  onto  trees  imme- 
diately. Apply  when  the  leaves  are  off,  during  winter  or 
in  early  spring.  Never  let  the  mixture  stand  over  night 
or  until  cold  before  applying  it;  it  will  not  do  the  work 
when  allowed  to  stand.  Remember  to  keep  it  boiling  all 
the  time  while  cooking.  Where  desirable,  steam  may 
be  used  for  cooking  this  mixture,  but  the  mixture  must 
be  constantly  stirred  during  cooking  process. 


230  WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS 

For  the  arsenate  of  lead  mixture  use  the  following: 
Lead  arsenate,  6  pounds;  water,  120  gallons.  This  mix- 
ture stays  in  suspension  better  than  paris  green,  but  is 
more  expensive  and  has  little  advantage  over  paris  green 
except  where  rains  are  frequent  it  is  less  likely  to  burn 
the  foliage.  Arsenate  of  lead  will  adhere  to  the  foliage 
longer  and  therefore  should  be  more  valuable  for  the  late 
sprays  or  for  leaf-eating  insects. 

After  five  years  of  experimenting  with  different  spray 
material  in  apple  orchards,  the  New  Hampshire  station  is 
just  out  with  suggestive  conclusions.  The  work  was  con- 
ducted on  different  farms  in  different  parts  of  the  state, 
and  the  sprays  were  used  primarily  as  fungicides.  Prof. 
Charles  Brooks,  author  of  the  bulletins,  reaches  con- 
clusions a  bit  contrary  to  the  general  spraying  verdict. 
While  lime-sulphur  is  advocated  as  the  best  all-around 
spray,  Prof.  Brooks  says :  "No  fungicide  has  been  found 
that  holds  diseases  in  check  as  well  as  bordeaux.  When 
showers  follow  soon  after  an  application  of  bordeaux, 
the  leaves  are  likely  to  be  spotted  and  the  fruit  somewhat 
rusted.  However,  the  injury  to  fruit  is  seldom  great 
enough  to  be  of  importance  when  apples  are  sold  in 
barrels.  If  extra  fancy  fruit  is  wanted  for  sale  in  boxes, 
the  use  of  bordeaux  under  New  Hampshire  conditions 
seems  questionable." 

Second  thought  will  indicate  that  Prof.  Brooks  is  not 
so  far  from  the  general  advice  given  on  spraying.  People 
want  fancy  fruit,  hence  they  substitute  lime-sulphur.  It 
is  largely  to  avoid  spray  injury  that  lime-sulphur  has 
replaced  bordeaux.  No  one  ever  questioned  the  high 
value  of  bordeaux  as  a  fungicide.  The  trouble  is  it  does 
too  well,  reaching  the  fruit  as  well  as  fungus.  In  New 
Hampshire  experience,  no  commercial  bordeaux  has  been 
found  as  satisfactory  as  home-made.  "The  best  formula 
of  bordeaux  for  the  apple  orchard  is  3-3-50,  that  is,  three 


WAR  ON  FIELD  AND  GARDEN  PESTS  231 

pounds  each  of  copper  sulphate  and  lime  to  50  gallons 
of  water." 

Regarding  lime-sulphur,  Prof.  Brooks  says:  "It 
proved  a  satisfactory  substitute  for  bordeaux  in  most 
cases.  It  caused  little  or  no  injury,  and  in  some  seasons 
controlled  the  diseases  as  well  as  bordeaux.  In  19 10, 
two  sprayings  of  lime-sulphur  were  entirely  inadequate 
to  hold  scab  in  check.  When  diseases  are  serious  and 
the  season  a  rainy  one,  more  applications  of  lime-sulphur 
will  be  required  than  of  bordeaux.  As  a  poison  for  in- 
sects, arsenate  of  lead  is  the  only  thing  that  has  proved 
satisfactory  for  use  with  lime-sulphur.  The  iron  sul- 
phide mixture  gave  good  results  the  one  season  it  was 
used,  and  is  apparently  worth  further  trial.  The  Bald- 
win is  apparently  more  susceptible  to  spray  injury  than 
the  Mcintosh. 

"The  number  of  sprayings  required  will  vary  with  the 
season  and  the  diseases  and  general  care  of  the  orchard. 
The  removal  of  all  cankers  will  greatly  decrease  the  leaf 
spot,  and  the  destruction  of  the  fallen  leaves  is  of  value 
in  controlling  both  scab  and  leaf  spot.  The  application 
of  a  strong  fungicide  before  the  leaves  are  out,  and  one 
of  a  regular  strength  just  before  the  flower  buds  open, 
will  decrease  the  number  of  sprayings  needed  later." 


Enemies  of  the  Corn  Crop 

The  corn  root-worm  has  ruined  thousands  of  acres  of 
corn  during  the  last  thirty  years,  and  yet  it  is  one  of  the 
easiest  species  to  control,  when  once  the  farmer  becomes 
acquainted  with  its  habits.  Like  most  insects  of  this  class, 
it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  hold  it  in  check  by  the  applica- 
tion of  poisons ;  it  covers  too  much  territory,  and,  during 
the  period  when  it  does  its  injury,  it  is  concealed  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  As  one  becomes  better  ac- 
quainted with  its  life  history,  therefore,  the  more  evident 
it  becomes  that  the  application  of  good  common  sense  in 
the  farming  operations  is  the  only  remedy  needed. 

This  insect  is  closely  related  to  the  striped  cucumber 
beetle,  belonging  to  the  same  genus,  is  about  the  same 
size  and  shape,  but  the  color  is  a  light  green.  The  adult 
beetles  may  be  found  feeding  upon  the  silk  and  pollen  of 
the  corn  during  the  last  of  July  and  through  August  until 
the  corn  plants  approach  maturity,  when  they  lay  eggs  on 
the  base  of  the  stalks,  just  below  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
and  pass  the  winter  in  the  egg  state.  The  eggs  hatch  in 
late  spring  or  early  summer,  and  at  first  eat  the  smaller 
roots,  but,  as  the  plants  develop  the  larvae  bore  out  the 
larger  roots,  causing  the  plants  to  dwindle  and  die,  or  to 
become  so  dwarfed  as  to  amount  to  nothing.  The  full 
grown  larvae  are  white,  chunked  invididuals,  about  one- 
tenth  of  an  inch  long,  and  nearly  as  thick.  They  pupate 
in  small  oval  cells  in  the  ground  and  the  beetles  appear 
soon  after. 

As  the  larvae  do  not  feed  upon  anything  but  the  corn 
roots,  it  is  evident  that  if  a  regular  rotation  of  crops  is 

232 


ENEMIES  OF  THE  CORN  CROP  233 

practiced,  so  that  corn  is  grown  on  the  same  soil  only  once 
in  three  or  four  years,  there  will  be  no  chance  for  the 
insects  to  increase.  The  trouble  invariably  comes  from 
planting  corn  after  corn,  except  on  river  bottoms,  which 
are  overflowed  several  times  during  each  year.  I  have 
seen  corn  grown  on  the  bottom  lands  along  the  Wabash 
river  near  LaFayette,  every  year  for  the  past  twenty- 
eight  years,  and  I  have  never  known  a  crop  to  be  in- 
jured by  this  insect.  But  on  the  upland,  black  prairie 
and  muck  soils,  where  corn  is  the  principal  crop  that  can 
be  successfully  grown,  this  insect  is  sure  to  give  trouble. 
On  such  land  oats  and  grass  should  rotate  with  corn. 

The  corn  root-aphis  is  a  different  proposition,  as  it 
belongs  to  the  suckling  class  or  true  bugs,  but  like  the 
other,  it  does  its  work  on  the  roots  under  ground,  and 
so  is  difficult  to  reach.  These  lice  are  usually  attended 
by  ants,  as  the  latter  are  very  fond  of  the  "honey  dew" 
which  is  given  out  by  the  lice  through  two  little  tubes, 
which  are  situated  on  the  back  of  the  adult  insect.  The 
ants  even  gather  up  the  aphis  eggs  and  store  them  in 
their  nests  where  they  are  cared  for  during  the  winter. 
During  April  and  May,  as  soon  as  the  smart-weed  and 
fox-tail  grass  make  their  appearance,  these  eggs  begin  to 
hatch  and  the  ants  carry  their  young  wards  and  colonize 
them  on  the  roots  of  these  plants.  As  soon  as  the  young 
corn  plants  are  well  started,  the  second  brood  of  lice  be- 
gins to  appear  and  the  ants  transfer  them  to  the  corn 
roots  where  they  continue  to  increase  with  great  rapidity, 
and  to  suck  the  life  out  of  the  corn  plants. 

It  is  evident  from  the  above,  that  the  land  seldom  be- 
comes infested  with  these  lice  until  the  second  or  possibly 
the  third  corn  crop.  If,  therefore,  a  three  or  four-year 
rotation  is  practiced  in  which  corn  appears  only  once, 
there  will  be  but  little,  if  any,  damage  done  by  the  aphis. 

Then,  too,  the  proper  fertilization  of  the  soil  is  of  great 
importance,  as  it  enables  the  corn  to  make  a  crop  in  spite 


234  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CORN  CROP 

of  the  lice.  A  heavy  dressing  of  stable  manure  is  gener- 
ally preferable  for  this  purpose.  A  dressing  of  kainit 
drilled  in  the  row,  at  the  rate  of  ioo  pounds  per  acre  at 
the  time  of  planting  has  been  found  to  almost  completely 
protect  the  plants  from  the  attacks  of  the  lice.  This 
material  is  used  quite  largely  in  some  sections. 

As  the  ants  protect  the  eggs  in  their  nests  during  win- 
ter, it  is  a  good  plan  to  plow  the  field  which  is  intended 
for  corn  the  second  or  third  year,  as  late  in  the  fall  as 
possible,  and  as  deeply  as  possible,  in  order  to  break  up 
the  ants'  nests.  This  will  also  assist  in  destroying  the 
weeds  which  serve  as  a  starter  for  the  lice  in  the  spring. 
By  dipping  the  seed  corn  in  a  solution  of  wood  alcohol 
and  oil  of  lemon  before  planting,  the  number  of  lice  and 
ants  may  be  greatly  reduced,  but  this  will  prove  true  only 
when  the  weather  conditions  are  just  right.  If  heavy 
rains  follow  the  planting,  the  material  is  washed  off  and 
so  loses  its  force.  With  our  present  knowledge,  there- 
fore, rotation,  late  fall  plowing,  early  and  thorough  cul- 
tivation, and  the  use  of  kainit  are  recommended. 


Wealth  in  Honey  Under  Skillful  Management 

It  has  been  asserted  that  a  thousand  dollars  can  be 
cleaned  up  easier  in  the  production  of  honey  than  in 
almost  any  other  line  of  farm  activity.  Whether  such  a 
statement  is  literally  true  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  bee- 
keeping belongs  in  the  line  of  mixed  farming,  and  is 
worthy  of  general  attention. 

A  few  persons  develop  a  large  business  in  bee  culture, 
and  grow  wealthy  from  the  sale  of  honey,  whereas  the 
majority  who  start  apiaries  fail  to  realize  enough  from 
them  to  pay  for  the  time  and  trouble  involved. 

There  is  a  seeming  inconsistency  here,  which  is  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  the  losers  have  been  neglectful 
of  vital  points,  while  the  winners  have  given  skilled  care 
to  such  questions  as  food  supply,  disease,  protection  from 
cold,  and  marketing  the  product.  It  is  a  business  that 
calls  for  much  reading  and  watchfulness. 

It  pays  to  winter  the  apiary  in  dry,  snug  quarters,  and 
the  shed  or  house  ought  to  be  ready  by  November  I.  It 
is  a  common  mistake  to  place  the  colonies  in  a  cellar  at 
the  approach  of  winter.  They  are  pretty  sure  to  suffer 
from  dampness  or  a  lack  of  ventilation.  The  ordinary 
granary  will  answer  the  purpose,  if  space  can  be  spared. 
It  is  essential  to  keep  the  hives  free  from  wind.  An  even 
temperature  is  necessary,  or  moisture  may  accumulate 
from  the  alternate  freezing  and  thawing. 

Moths  are  usually  prevalent  in  the  hives  after  rainy 
weather  of  the  fall,  and  many  dead  bees  can  be  picked  out 
of  the  combs  when  it  comes  time  to  prepare  for  winter. 
One  diseased  swarm  will  have  a  bad  effect  on  the  entire 

235 


236  WEALTH  IN  HONEY 

apiary.  If  there  are  any  colonies  affected  with  moths  or 
foul  brood,  they  should  be  kept  separate  from  the  others. 

It  is  best  to  take  out  all  the  honey  where  there  are  indi- 
cations of  disease  and  give  the  bees  a  clean  hive,  with  a 
fresh  supply  of  food.  Wash  and  fumigate  the  old  boxes 
before  they  are  used  again.  It  is  important  to  have  clean, 
well-made  hives,  with  joints  so  tight  that  worms  cannot 
secrete  themselves  out  of  reach  of  the  bees. 

Owners  of  apiaries  who  are  not  satisfied  with  the 
appearance  of  their  swarms  in  spring  will  be  wise  to  intro- 
duce a  new  lot  of  Italian  queens  bought  from  reliable 
dealers.  This,  with  clean  hives,  will  be  apt  to  bring 
success  again. 

A  vigorous  swarm  will  gather  ioo  pounds  of  honey  in 
a  season,  in  addition  to  its  own  food  supply,  provided  the 
distance  to  travel  does  not  exceed  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
This  product  is  worth  $14  to  $20,  according  to  whether 
the  producer  sells  at  retail  or  wholesale.  Call  it  $15  for 
the  sake  of  the  illustration.  One  hundred  colonies  would 
earn  $1,500.  Letting  the  food  supply  be  governed  by 
chance,  a  colony  will  produce  thirty-five  to  seventy  pounds 
in  a  good  season.  One  hundred  colonies  will  earn  about 
$750.  Owners  need  to  provide  a  patch  of  buckwheat  or 
alsike  near  the  apiary.  This  will  insure  honey-making  in 
bad  seasons  and  save  the  bees  a  great  deal  of  travel. 

It  is  easy  to  handle  bees  when  you  know  how.  Undoubt- 
edly a  beekeeper  often  gets  stung;  it  would  be  useless  to 
deny  it,  and  it  is  scarcely  consoling  to  a  novice  to  tell 
him  he  will  get  used  to  being  stung;  but  after  a  time  a 
beekeeper  really  does  become  inoculated,  after  which, 
although  the  momentary  pain  may  be  sharp,  there  are  no 
disagreeable  after-effects,  such  as  swelling,  etc. 

The  fear  of  stings  prevents  many  from  liking  the 
work,  and  yet,  when  properly  protected  with  a  bee-veil, 
and  working  only  in  the  warm  part  of  the  day,  and  never 


WEALTH  IN  HONEY  23/ 

when  cloudy,  rainy  or  cold,  and  with  the  use  of  a  good 
smoker,  one  need  rarely  be  stung. 

In  many  cases  the  sting  of  a  bee  is  attended  with  much 
pain  and  swelling,  while  in  others  there  are  no  ill  effects 
produced  whatever,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the 
system  may  become  inured  to  the  poison  so  that  no  bad 
effects  are  produced. 

It  is  much  easier  to  prevent  the  anger  of  bees  than  to 
stop  it  after  it  has  begun.  If  you  mismanage  a  colony  of 
bees  and  arouse  their  anger,  it  is  quite  likely  that  this 
disposition  will  remain  with  them  for  a  few  days. 

A  bee  away  from  home,  or  laden  with  honey,  never 
volunteers  an  attack. 

Thus,  in  order  to  render  bees  harmless,  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  cause  them  to  fill  themselves  with  honey,  and 
this  is  done  by  frightening  them  with  smoke.  When 
smoke  is  driven  into  a  hive  through  the  entrance,  the  bees 
at  once  begin  filling  themselves  with  honey. 

But  with  them,  as  with  human  beings,  it  is  the  most 
experienced  which  are  slowest  to  take  fright,  so  when 
the  old  bees  are  all  at  home,  it  is  more  difficult,  and  takes 
more  time  to  compel  them  all  to  fill  themselves. 

For  this  reason  it  is  much  safer  to  handle  bees  during 
the  warmest  part  of  the  day,  or  at  a  time  when  the 
greater  part  of  the  old  bees  are  in  the  field. 

The  bees  which  compose  a  swarm  are  usually  filled  with 
honey  for  the  journey  which  they  expect  to  take,  and 
they  are  harmless  unless  crushed,  or  very  much  irritated 
by  the  anger  of  others,  and  the  smell  of  the  poison. 

An  expert  may  open  a  hive  without  smoke  and  without 
danger,  and  may  handle  the  combs  and  return  them  to  the 
hive  without  getting  a  single  sting,  by  being  quiet,  steady 
and  fearless.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  fearless  apiarist  may 
often  be  entirely  unharmed,  while  others  a  rod  away  may 
be  stung. 


238  WEALTH  IN  HONEY 

When  you  wish  to  open  a  hive  of  bees,  arm  yourself 
with  a  smoker,  cover  your  head  with  a  veil,  and  step 
boldly  to  the  front  of  the  hive ;  send  the  smoke  through 
the  opening  for  half  a  minute,  then  stop,  and  repeat  the 
operation  after  another  half-minute,  or  until  they  make  a 
steady  hum,  which  will  show  that  they  have  given  up  the 
desire  to  fight.  Then  open  the  hive,  smoke  gently,  and 
you  may  lift  the  combs,  one  after  another. 

I  do  not  like  the  plan  of  building  a  repository  in  the 
side  of  a  hill  any  better  than  I  like  a  cellar  under  the 
dwelling.  With  either  plan  there  are  bad  results,  and  a 
frame  building,  high  and  dry,  is  in  every  way  preferable. 
Outdoor  wintering  is  not  generally  successful,  but  some 
experts  use  chaff  hives  with  sawdust  cushions  over  the 
top  of  the  brood  chamber. 

In  case  of  outdoor  wintering,  it  is  well  to  have  all  hives 
facing  southward,  so  the  sun  can  shine  on  the  entrances 
and  keep  them  free  from  ice.  After  a  heavy  fall  of  snow, 
always  sweep  in  front  of  the  hives,  leaving  the  snow 
banked  around  the  other  three  sides,  as  it  will  do  no 
harm  there,  but  will  help  to  keep  off  the  prevailing  winds. 

Bees  will  take  an  occasional  flight  during  warm  days 
in  winter,  and  sometimes  many  are  seen  lying  about  dead 
on  the  snow,  but  such  are  generally  the  old  ones  that  are 
easily  chilled  and  fail  to  get  back  to  their  hives.  Such 
losses  are  not  serious. 

With  too  small  an  entrance,  in  a  damp  climate,  there 
will  be  moldy  combs,  and  more  than  the  proper  amount 
of  dead  bees.  The  trouble  becomes  aggravated  in  the 
course  of  the  winter  by  the  clogging  of  the  entrance  with 
dead  bees.  Let  the  full  entrance  be  given  as  in  summer, 
and  see  that  the  dead  bees  are  cleaned  from  it  every  few 
weeks. 

During  heavy  storms  in  winter,  it  frequently  happens 
that  hives  are  entirely  buried  in  snow.  While  the  snow  is 
light  and  porous,   air   will  penetrate  it  and  reach  the 


WEALTH  IN  HONEY  239 

entrances  of  the  hives;  but  should  the  snow  become 
crusty  or  ice  form  at  the  front,  the  bees  would  be  in 
danger  of  suffocating. 

Some  people  are  of  the  opinion  that  if  we  have  a  cold, 
steady  winter,  in  which  the  bees  remain  confined  to  their 
hives  for  several  months,  there  is  less  danger  of  winter 
losses,  because  fewer  of  the  bees  wander  away  and  get 
lost.  There  would  be  a  point  in  this,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  danger  of  the  overloading  of  their  bowels  with  fetid 
matter,  which  they  cannot  discharge  in  the  hive  without 
greatly  endangering  the  life  or  health  of  the  colony. 

Diarrhoea  is  often  brought  about  during  the  winter 
season.  It  is  no  doubt  caused  by  fermented  or  extremely 
thin  honey.  It  has  been  found  that  bees  located  near 
cider  mills  or  cane  mills  will  contract  the  trouble  from 
feeding  too  much  on  the  apple  pomace  or  cane  juice. 

Cold  weather,  dampness  or  a  sudden  change  of  tem- 
perature has  been  known  to  bring  on  the  disease.  As 
soon  as  the  outbreak  is  noticed,  the  bees  should  be  kept 
as  warm  as  possible,  and  the  hive  should  be  well  wrapped. 
During  the  cider  season  the  pomace  should  be  removed 
and  fed  to  the  hogs,  where  the  bees  cannot  partake  of  it. 

During  the  winter  the  bees  are  huddled  close  together 
in  a  compact  cluster,  the  interior  of  which  is  at  a  normal 
temperature,  while  the  space  outside  of  it  may  be  even 
below  freezing. 

As  the  season  advances,  and  the  weather  gets  warmer, 
the  cluster  expands  itself,  brood  rearing  begins,  and 
honey  is  brought  in,  but  all  the  work  done  is  only  inside 
the  cluster,  as  the  temperature  is  too  low  outside  of  it 
to  admit  of  anything  being  done. 

At  no  time  of  the  year  does  skillful  treatment  and  care 
of  the  bees  yield  a  greater  reward  than  during  the  spring 
months.  A  great  mistake  is  often  made  in  taking  the 
bees  out  of  winter  quarters  too  early  in  the  spring,  as  the 
weather  is  unsettled  at  this  time,  and  a  cold  snap  of  a 


240  WEALTH  IN  HONEY 

few  days  will  be  apt  to  cause  the  colony  to  dwindle  to 
almost  nothing,  if  it  does  not  entirely  succumb. 

I  would  advise  setting  them  out  about  the  time  soft 
maple  and  elm  trees  begin  to  bloom.  If  there  are  only  a 
few  hives,  they  can  all  be  set  out  at  once.  Select  a  pleas- 
ant day,  so  the  bees  can  enjoy  a  cleansing  flight.  Bees 
often  become  badly  mixed  up  if  a  great  number  of  hives 
are  set  out  at  one  time,  some  of  the  hives  getting  too 
many  bees,  and  some  not  enough. 

If  the  bees  are  disposed  to  dysentery  before  setting  out 
time  has  actually  arrived,  they  may,  with  profit,  be  set  out 
some  pleasant  day  for  a  flight,  and  then  placed  back 
toward  evening,  when  they  will  be  able  to  endure  a  much 
longer  period  of  confinement. 

As  soon  as  the  warm  weather  approaches,  go  over  the 
entire  apiary  and  examine  each  hive,  to  ascertain  the  con- 
dition of  the  bees.  You  may  find  a  few  colonies  where 
the  queen  is  absent.  This  is  quickly  noticed  by  the  dis- 
concerted action  of  the  bees  themselves ;  and  then,  look- 
ing further,  it  may  be  noticed  that  no  brood  is  present. 
Such  hives  place  under  other  hives,  with  free  access 
between  them.  The  queenless  bees  will  readily  unite  with 
the  colony  over  them. 


Care  and  Marketing  of  Extracted  Honey 

The  care  and  marketing  of  extracted  honey  require  con- 
siderable special  knowledge.  There  is  a  continual  demand 
for  this  commodity,  and  apiarists  should  take  advantage 
of  it.  Imperfect  combs  may  be  used  up  in  this  way, 
provided  the  quality  of  the  honey  is  good.  An  almost 
unlimited  retail  trade  can  be  worked  up  for  extracted 
as  well  as  comb  honey.  Extracting  is  strongly  recom- 
mended in  working  colonies  for  large  returns,  for  much 
work  is  saved  the  bees  and  more  honey  is  obtained. 
Much  that  would  otherwise  be  used  in  the  production  of 
wax  for  building  the  combs  is  carried  up  into  the  super, 
thus  adding  considerably  to  the  surplus.  Honey,  unlike 
many  other  commodities,  will  keep  good  almost  indefi- 
nitely, if  properly  taken  and  stored.  Fermentation  and 
the  consequent  spoiling  of  honey  should  be  avoided  by 
making  sure  that  all  honey,  when  taken  from  the  hive,  is 
ripe.  If  it  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  hive  until  there 
is  no  doubt  of  its  ripeness,  there  need  be  little  fear  of 
fermentation.  This  is  said  to  be  caused  in  some  instances 
by  the  presence  in  the  honey  of  pollen  grains,  but  if  the 
brood  nests  are  properly  managed,  it  is  seldom  that  pollen 
will  be  found  at  all  in  the  supers. 

When  the  heat  in  the  brood  chamber,  generated  by  the 
bees,  has  extracted  the  superfluous  water  from  the  honey 
by  evaporation,  the  sealing  of  the  cells  takes  place, 
because  the  honey  is  then  in  a  condition  which  the  bee- 
keeper terms  ripeness. 

On  removing  the  super,  it  should  be  placed  in  a  warm 
room,  and  if  the  work  of  extracting  can  be  carried  on  at 

241 


242  CARE  AND  MARKETING  OF  HONEY 

once,  while  the  honey  is  warm,  it  will  he  an  advantage,  as 
it  will  flow  more  freely  than  if  allowed  to  get  cold  by 
standing  a  day  or  so  in  a  cold  room. 

The  cappings,  or  cell  covers,  should  be  shaved  of!  with 
a  sharp  knife,  warmed  by  standing  it  in  a  pitcher  of  hot 
water,  and  if  cut  from  the  bottom  with  a  sawlike  motion, 
while  the  top  of  the  frame  is  held  forward,  the  cappings 
will  remain  in  a  sheet  and  fall  into  the  pan  held  below. 

When  the  uncapped  combs  are  put  into  the  cages  of 
the  extractor,  they  should  be  so  placed  that  the  bottom 
bars  go  around  first,  for  thus  the  honey  is  more  easily 
thrown  out  as  it  leaves  the  cells  in  the  direction  of  the 
pitch  given  them  by  the  bees  when  they  are  building  their 
combs. 

It  is  always  advisable  to  return  combs  wet  with  honey 
in  the  evening,  so  that  the  excitement  they  cause  may  be 
over  by  the  morning.  Returning  such  combs  at  unsuit- 
able times,  and  placing  scraps  of  comb  about  for  the  bees 
to  clean,  are  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  much  robbing. 

Before  putting  honey  into  kegs,  place  the  kegs  in  a 
dry  place,  driving  up  the  hoops  occasionally.  Through 
tin  and  glass  no  moisture  can  pass.  The  wood  can  be 
made  a  little  like  glass  by  paraffining  it.  Have  your  kegs 
hot  by  standing  in  the  sun  or  otherwise;  pour  two  or 
three  pounds  of  hot  paraffin  into  the  keg,  bung  tight,  roll 
the  keg  over  and  over,  tipping  it  on  each  end,  then  knock 
out  the  bung  and  pour  out  the  paraffin. 

If  you  have  been  lively  about  it,  you  will  get  most  of 
your  paraffin  back,  but  a  thin  coating  will  be  all  over  the 
inside  surface. 

About  the  worst  thing  you  can  do  is  to  have  the  wood 
of  the  keg  soaked  so  the  hoops  are  very  tight  before  put- 
ting in  the  honey.  The  honey  will  suck  all  the  moisture 
out  of  the  staves,  loosen  the  hoops,  then  ferment,  and 
perhaps  burst  the  keg. 

There  are  other  things  besides  bees  and  hives  needed 


CARE  AND  MARKETING  OF  HONEY  243 

in  producing  extracted  honey.  A  honey  house  becomes 
a  necessity,  even  when  the  apiary  is  very  small,  though  of 
course  if  one  has  only  a  half-dozen  colonies  or  so,  a 
small  room  may  be  used  in  lieu  of  a  house  specially  built 
for  the  business,  particularly  when  comb  or  section  honey 
is  produced. 

Extracted  honey,  production  needs  a  larger  equipment 
of  tools  and  appliances  than  does  comb,  and  needs  more 
care  and  labor  in  getting  it  into  proper  shape  for  market. 
So  far  as  the  handling  of  the  product  is  concerned,  there 
is  more  labor  in  the  extracted,  but  in  the  preliminary  work 
or  management  of  the  bees,  the  comb  takes  both  greater 
skill  as  an  apiarist  and  more  labor. 

Our  attention  in  the  future  should  be  given  more  to 
the  practical  management  of  bees,  to  reduce  the  labor 
and  expense  to  the  minimum.  The  more  the  work  is 
simplified,  the  more  we  shall  feel  we  are  advancing.  Bet- 
ter results  are  obtained  from  working  for  both  comb  and 
extracted  honey,  and  it  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a 
steady  demand  for  each  kind. 


Management  the  Key  to  Poultry  Success 

Poultry  dealers  are  learning  to  make  money.  Success 
is  measured  by  the  dollar  standard  in  all  commercial 
enterprises.  Ducks  and  chickens  are  fed  and  housed,  not 
for  their  beauty,  but  for  their  earning  capacity. 

This  fact  will  not  be  disputed,  and  it  is  clearly  proven 
by  the  developments  in  the  poultry  industry.  Capital  is 
being  invested  quite  freely  and  thousands  of  new  plants, 
large  and  small,  are  being  put  on  a  business  basis,  so  that 
they  will  return  reasonable  profits.  No  branch  of  busi- 
ness shows  greater  progress. 

One  of  the  most  successful  poultry  raisers  in  Illinois 
has  only  five  acres  of  land.  He  keeps  from  600  to  2,000 
chickens,  and  raises  wheat  and  corn  enough  for  them  on 
about  three  acres.  He  buys  the  refuse  from  a  hotel,  pay- 
ing merely  a  nominal  price.  It  may  not  be  very  profitable 
to  feed  chickens  exclusively  on  corn  worth  75  cents  a 
bushel,  but  by  providing  a  variety  of  cheaper  food,  the 
question  of  feeding  becomes  less  serious. 

In  order  to  get  a  good  supply  of  eggs  in  the  winter, 
conditions  for  the  hens  must  be  made  as  nearly  like 
summer  as  possible. 

To  do  this,  one  thing  necessary  is  plenty  of  green  food 
for  the  hens  to  eat.  There  are  various  ways  of  supplying 
this. 

If  there  is  a  field  of  winter  wheat,  rye  or  alfalfa,  where 
they  can  help  themselves,  the  green-food  problem  is 
solved,  when  there  is  no  snow  on  the  ground  and  the 
weather  is  warm  enough  so  that  the  hens  can  be  out. 

During  cold  and  stormy  weather,  when  they  are  shut 

244 


MANAGEMENT  THE  KEY  TO  SUCCESS  245 

up  in  the  houses,  clover  or  alfalfa,  cut  into  short  lengths, 
is  a  good  green  food.  The  hens  will  eat  them  dry,  but 
relish  them  much  better  if  steamed.  To  steam,  cut  into 
short  pieces  and  pack  in  a  tub  or  bucket,  pour  as  much 
boiling  water  over  them  as  they  will  absorb,  and  cover 
tightly  for  thirty  minutes  before  feeding.  It  may  be  fed 
either  by  itself  or  mixed  with  a  mash. 

Sprouted  oats  are  a  good  green  food.  To  prepare 
them,  soak  the  oats  in  warm  water  for  twenty-four 
hours,  then  spread  in  shallow  boxes  and  keep  in  a  warm 
place.  Keep  them  moist  by  sprinkling  with  warm  water, 
and  they  will  soon  sprout. 

When  the  sprouts  are  about  two  inches  long,  cut  the 
oats  out  in  chunks  and  feed  to  the  hens.  They  will  eat 
with  relish  both  the  sprouts  and  the  oats. 

Another  way  of  furnishing  green  food  is  to  feed  vege- 
tables. Turnips,  beets  and  mangles  should  be  cut  in 
halves  and  fed  raw.  Potatoes  may  be  fed  either  raw  or 
cooked  and  a  little  bran  mixed  with  them. 

Cabbage  heads  should  be  hung  up  where  the  hens  can 
pick  them.  Giving  the  hens  regularly  any  one  of  these 
green  foods  will  make  a  noticeable  gain  in  the  production 
of  eggs,  but  of  course  the  hens  will  relish  a  variety  of 
green  foods,  as  well  as  of  grains. 

About  thirty  years  ago,  when  poultry  farming  was 
young,  as  a  business,  a  cry  arose  that  it  would  not  be  long 
before  there  would  be  such  a  surplus  of  stock  that  prices 
would  go  tumbling;  but  notwithstanding  that,  there  are 
ten  successful  plants  today  to  every  one  thirty  years  ago, 
and  the  demand  is  not  half  reached!  With  the  increase 
of  supply  came  the  increase  of  demand,  and  today  we  are 
no  nearer  meeting  the  demand  than  we  ever  were. 

However,  there  is  a  change  in  the  market  which  must 
not  be  lost  sight  of.  Almost  anything  in  the  poultry  line 
sells,  but  the  choice  prices  are  alone  given  to  the  "fancy 
goods." 


246         MANAGEMENT  THE  KEY  TO  SUCCESS 

The  word  "fancy"  implies  more  than  appearance.  It 
means  also  quality.  Poultry  and  tgg  buyers  are  becom- 
ing particular,  but  they  are  willing  to  pay  for  their  goods. 
If  they  want  the  brown  eggs,  they  will  not  take  white; 
and  if  they  prefer  the  white,  the  brown  ones  offer  no 
temptation.  The  market  today  demands  choice,  plump, 
fresh  stock.  Have  you  got  it?  If  so,  the  market  is  wait- 
ing for  you. 

We  have  today  quite  a  number  of  breeds,  and  all,  to  a 
certain  extent,  are  practical.  But  they  will  not  any  one 
of  them  fill  all  the  purposes ;  therefore,  it  is  necessary  for 
a  man  to  select  only  such  breeds  as  will  best  serve  his 
customers. 

Of  the  entire  list  of  breeds,  none  will  meet  the  demands 
of  Americans  so  satisfactorily  as  do  the  American  varie- 
ties, and  in  this  class  the  most  popular  are  the  Wyan- 
dottes,  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  with  the  Rhode  Island  Reds 
closely  following;  also  our  American  strains  of  Light 
Brahmas  and  Leghorns. 

The  Brahmas  belong  to  the  Asiatic  class  as  a  breed, 
but  the  Light  Brahma,  as  bred  by  our  people,  is  so 
different  from  that  bred  in  England  that  one  would 
hardly  suppose  them  to  be  of  the  same  family.  This  is 
also  true  of  the  Leghorns,  which  belong  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean class. 

It  will  cost  the  farmer  no  more  money  to  raise  thor- 
oughbred poultry  than  it  will  to  grow  scrubs.  The  pure 
breeds  will  not  only  bring  more  money  in  the  wholesale 
market  but  it  is  a  fact  that  poorly  graded  poultry  lose 
more  heavily  in  shrinkage  than  do  those  that  are  of 
pure  blood.  Commission  men  say  that  there  is  a  marked 
improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  poultry  that  now  comes 
to  the  city  markets,  and  say  that  this  improvement  has 
been  influenced  by  buyers  who  collect  poultry  from  farm- 
ers and  ship  it  to  market. 

The  shippers  can  pay  a  higher  price  for  a  better  quality 


MANAGEMENT  THE  KEY  TO  SUCCESS         247 

of  poultry  and  then  make  more  money,  for  the  reason 
that  they  get  better  returns. 

Juiciness  in  broilers  is  due  to  pure  food  and  rapid 
maturity.  As  a  broiler  cannot  be  secured  on  free  range, 
and  as  it  can  attain  the  required  weight  in  a  given  time 
only  by  a  systematic  feeding  of  pure  foods,  it  carries  with 
it  a  reputation  and  demand  on  account  of  its  juiciness, 
tenderness  and  purity. 

At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  in  a  test  with 
different  rations  for  fattening  poultry,  a  mixture  of  2 
parts  corn  meal,  2  parts  ground  buckwheat  and  I  part 
ground  oats,  with  an  equal  weight  of  skim  milk,  gave  a 
pound  of  gain  for  less  than  2>lA  cents  a  pound.  Four 
parts  corn  meal,  2  parts  each  buckwheat  and  ground  oats, 
with  an  equal  weight  of  milk,  made  the  cost  a  trifle  over 
4^2  cents  per  pound ;  while  ground  oats  alone,  with  equal 
weight  of  milk,  made  the  cost  nearly  5  cents  per  pound. 
A  very  good  fattening  ration  consists  of  100  pounds  of 
corn  meal,  100  pounds  of  wheat  middlings  and  4  pounds 
of  animal  meal,  with  an  equal  weight  of  skimmed  milk. 

If  the  fowls  are  confined  in  small  pens  and  kept  quiet, 
they  will  fatten  much  quicker.  Give  all  they  will  eat 
three  times  a  day,  with  plenty  of  pure  water  to  drink. 
Separate  the  cockerels  early  from  the  pullets.  In  half  an 
hour  after  feeding,  remove  the  drinking  and  feeding  ves- 
sels. Two  weeks  before  marketing  them,  feed  with  corn 
and  corn  meal.  Keep  before  them  a  box  of  sharp  grit. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  broilers  or  fries ;  the  smaller  are 
known  as  squab  broilers,  weighing  from  three-fourths 
to  one  pound  each.  The  demand  for  these  is  not  great. 
The  average  broiler  weighs  from  2  to  3  pounds,  and  sells 
for  from  20  cents  to  50  cents  per  pound,  according  to  the 
season  of  the  year  and  the  purchaser.  During  June  and 
July  the  price  falls  rapidly,  and  at  the  end  of  July  in 
the  open  market  frequently  falls  to  12  or  15  cents  per 
pound.     In  preparing  fries  for  the  market,  when  nearly 


248         MANAGEMENT  THE  KEY  TO  SUCCESS 

large  enough,  put  them  in  a  pen,  having  a  shady  run; 
give  them  fresh  water  twice  a  day  and  all  the  fattening 
food  they  can  eat.  Muscle  and  bone-making  food  for 
this  class  is  not  required ;  therefore,  feed  corn  in  various 
forms — cooked  corn,  mashed  corn,  ground  corn,  whole 
corn,  warm  potatoes  and  bread  crumbs,  and  any  kind  of 
milk.  A  little  sugar  and  fat  meat  will  help  along  the  fat- 
tening process,  and  this  should  be  concluded  as  fast  as 
possible,  for  during  these  days  the  chicks  will  eat  con- 
siderable, and  unless  they  put  on  flesh  rapidly,  there  will 
be  no  profit  in  raising  them. 

There  is  already  a  fair  demand  for  guinea  fowls,  espe- 
cially in  New  York  and  other  cities  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  United  States,  and  this  condition  will  soon  obtain  in 
all  leading  markets  if  present  indications  count  for  any- 
thing. As  the  demand  for  guinea  meat  increases,  as  a 
substitute  for  game  or  other  birds  and  fowls,  guineas 
ought  to  become  a  source  of  considerable  profit  to  poultry 
raisers  generally.  Very  young  birds  for  broilers  bring 
good  prices  early  in  the  season,  while  the  older  fowls  are 
readily  salable  throughout  the  autumn  and  winter.  In 
recent  years  the  varieties  have  been  improved.  The  birds 
are  good  rangers,  and  do  well  with  comparatively  little 
care — even  when  young  are  hardy  and  healthy. 

The  first  thing  to  do  in  taking  up  poultry  as  a  business 
is  to  find  some  breed  adapted  to  the  locality,  then  stock 
up  with  that  breed  and  study  it.  Personality  enters  into 
the  success  of  the  poultry  industry  to  a  large  extent.  A 
man  must  be  good-natured  for  one  thing,  and  willing  to 
give  his  time  and  patience  to  detail  work.  For  these 
reasons  a  man  who  takes  up  this  business  for  pleasure 
often  succeeds  much  better  than  the  man  who  goes  into 
it  for  purely  the  money  it  brings  him.  Success  in  this 
business  comes  slowly.  It  must  be  built  up.  It  requires 
patience,  but  when  success  does  come,  everything  after 
that  is  easy  and  the  profits  are  good. 


Winter  Egg  Production 

During  the  months  of  October,  November  and  December 
of  each  year  there  is  a  scarcity  of  fresh  eggs,  and  the 
prices,  in  consequence,  go  up.  This  scarcity  is  due  to  the 
molting  period  for  old  hens,  the  lack  of  early  hatched 
pullets,  and  the  general  failure  to  so  feed  and  manage 
chickens  as  to  secure  winter  eggs. 

The  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  select  early  pullets. 
Those  hatched  in  March  and  April  may  be  depended  on 
for  a  liberal  egg  supply  from  the  time  they  are  seven 
months  old.  The  hatching  should  have  winter  egg  pro- 
duction in  view,  and  therefore  it  is  important  to  select  the 
eggs  of  fowls  that  are  prolific  layers  and  which  have 
good  constitutions. 

The  great  thing  is  to  get  the  eggs  during  the  months 
of  November,  December  and  January,  and  this  can  be 
done  with  early  pullets.  The  older  hens  will  not  do  much 
for  a  couple  of  months  after  molting,  but  will  help  out  the 
supply  after  the  turn  of  the  year.  The  demand  for 
strictly  fresh  eggs  is  so  keen  that  prices  remain  high  all 
winter. 

A  poultry  house  should  be  so  constructed  that  it  can  be 
opened  during  the  day,  that  the  warm  sun  and  fresh  air 
may  disinfect  it.  An  open  front  is  the  approved  modern 
idea.  It  gives  fresh  air  without  draughts.  The  opening 
should  have  bars  to  keep  out  animals.  The  place  needs 
to  be  large  enough  so  that  the  scratching  floor  is  apart 
from  the  nests  and  roosts. 

A  common  mistake  with  beginners  is  in  having  too 
many  varieties.    In  their  enthusiasm  they  cannot  content 

249 


250  WINTER  EGG  PRODUCTION 

themselves  with  a  single  breed.  They  read  what  breeders 
of  every  variety  have  to  say,  taking  in  every  word,  and 
forgetting  that  these  breeders  have  axes  to  grind.  But 
the  beginner  is  not  long  in  seeing  his  mistake.  He  sooner 
or  later  cuts  down  to  a  single  variety. 

Some,  too,  grow  tired  of  the  variety  they  have  chosen, 
and  are  continually  changing.  That  class  of  poultrymen 
hardly  ever  get  beyond  the  hobby  stage  of  the  industry. 
Select  a  single  variety,  and  stick  to  that. 

Inbreeding  is  another  bugbear.  There  is  nothing  that 
will  so  quickly  ruin  stock  as  this.  The  house  must  be 
dry  and  free  from  lice ;  the  warmer  the  house  the  better, 
but  there  must  be  no  draughts. 

Regular  feeding  is  also  an  important  point.  Fowls 
soon  learn  to  know  when  their  feeding  hour  arrives,  and 
will  be  in  a  more  or  less  anxious  state  until  they  are  fed. 
Have  a  bill  of  fare,  and  stick  to  it.  But  see  that  that  bill 
of  fare  is  composed  of  a  variety.  To  endeavor  to  keep  a 
flock  on  a  grain  diet  will  soon  breed  all  sorts  of  trouble. 

Ground  bone,  sunflower  and  millet  seed,  culled  potatoes, 
scrap  meat,  stale  bread  soaked  in  whey  or  skimmed  milk, 
cabbage  leaves,  and  all  table  leavings,  are  good  food  for 
fowls  and  help  to  form  the  needed  variety.  For  a  regular 
grain  diet,  wheat  and  corn  are  favored.  If  oats  are  fed, 
they  should  be  chopped.  A  daily  mash  composed  of  bran, 
middlings,  ground  oats,  linseed  meal  and  boiled  potatoes 
is  excellent.  It  is  best  when  moistened  with  milk,  but  it 
should  not  be  sloppy.  Grit  and  charcoal  are  needed  at  all 
times.  Crushed  oyster  shells  or  bits  of  old  mortar  help  to 
supply  the  lime  that  hens  need. 

Some  kind  of  green  food  is  necessary  for  a  large  pro- 
duction of  eggs,  though  it  is  not  essential  in  fattening.  If 
it  is  not  easy  to  furnish  a  variety,  a  little  alfalfa  or  clover 
hay  will  do  nicely.  Beets,  turnips,  carrots,  potatoes  and 
cabbage  are  easily  supplied  on  any  farm,  and  they  are  a 
valuable  food,  either  boiled  or  raw.     Give  all  the  clean 


WINTER  EGG  PRODUCTION  251 

water  the  fowls  will  drink.    It  should  be  kept  in  vessels 
that  they  cannot  upset. 

At  night,  feed  corn  and  wheat,  sometimes  one,  some- 
times both,  enough  to  fill  their  crops.  Now,  this  is  the 
way  I  feed,  but  I  do  not  guarantee  it  to  produce  eggs 
unless  combined  with  some  details  of  more  or  less  impor- 
tance, and  all  directed  by  an  intelligent  interest  that  is 
quick  to  note  and  to  provide  for  special  conditions. 

The  morning  feed  should  be  given  early,  for  fowls  are 
early  risers,  and  should  not  be  kept  waiting  for  their 
breakfasts.  It  should  not  be  necessary  to  say  that  the 
warm  mash  should  not  be  thrown  in  a  dirty  or  muddy 
place,  but  on  planks  or  a  firm,  hard  spot.  Shallow 
troughs  are  better  yet.  Perhaps  it  is  best  to  give  the 
mash  in  the  morning,  while  through  the  day  the  hens 
should  be  compelled  to  take  exercise  by  hunting  for  grain 
in  a  litter  of  straw  or  hay.  If  they  can  be  allowed  the  run 
of  a  barn  through  the  day,  it  will  help  to  keep  them 

active. 

Hens  dread  the  snow,  and  will  not  walk  through  it 
unless  forced.  Therefore,  on  snowy  days,  sweep  a  path 
from  their  house  to  the  barn  or  shed  where  they  can  take 
their  exercise.  If  you  don't  see  to  their  daily  exercise,  the 
hens  will  stand  around  in  their  house,  shivering  and 
miserable,  and  the  eggs  will  shrink. 

This  is  one  of  those  details  that  good  judgment  should 
approve.  It  is  impossible  to  enumerate  them  all.  Elabo- 
rate directions  are  thrown  away  unless  there  be  a  critical 
and  judicious  eye  to  administer  them. 

The  amount  of  brain  and  muscle  work  used  in  the  man- 
agement will  give  a  proportionate  profit,  and  of  the  two, 
brain  work  counts  first  in  this,  as  in  all  work. 


Egg  Type  in  Hens 

Many  poultrymen  claim  there  is  an  egg  type  in  fowls, 
and  that  they  can  pick  out  the  good  layers  as  well  as  the 
poor  ones  in  a  flock.  This  claim  is  based  on  the  theory 
that  certain  peculiarities  of  form  or  shape,  such  as  long 
body,  wedge  shape,  broad  rear,  small  head,  etc.,  indicate 
good  laying  qualities. 

A  statement  in  the  last  United  States  census  report  of 
1900  reads :  "It  has  been  discovered  that  there  are  600 
embryo  eggs  in  the  ovary  of  a  hen.  It  has  been  further 
ascertained  that  two-thirds  of  this  number  can  be  secured 
in  the  first  two  years  of  the  hen's  life,  provided  suitable 
measures  are  employed."  Concerning  these  statements, 
Prof.  James  Dry  den  writes : 

"One  of  our  hens  has  already  exceeded  this  limit,  hav- 
ing laid  568  eggs  the  first  three  years,  and  to  July  31  of 
the  fourth  year  she  had  laid  a  total  of  670  eggs,  and  was 
still  laying,  having  till  November  1  to  complete  that  year. 
A  Brown  Leghorn  hen  has  also  exceeded  the  600  limit, 
having  laid  up  to  the  same  date  628  eggs,  with  prospects 
of  many  more. 

"As  to  the  other  statement,  that  two-thirds  of  600  eggs 
may  be  secured  in  the  first  two  years,  or  400  eggs,  in  our 
experience  only  one  hen  has  reached  it,  having  laid  442 
eggs  in  the  first  two  years.  Furthermore,  no  records  have 
been  reported  from  other  stations  of  400  eggs  in  two 
years.  Three  Barred  Plymouth  Rock  hens  of  like  age, 
and  fed  in  the  same  pen,  laid  145,  144  and  212  eggs, 
respectively,  the  same  year,  and  40,  116  and  181  the 
second  year,  one  lacking  seven  eggs  of  making  400  the 

252 


EGG  TYPE  IN  HENS  253 

first  two  years.  This  one  has  the  wedge  shape,  is  medium 
long  in  body,  rather  long  in  neck,  with  small  head.  She 
laid  a  small  egg. 

"In  view  of  the  great  variation  in  layers,  the  question 
as  to  whether  there  is  an  egg  type  becomes  very  impor- 
tant. If  the  good  layers  can  be  picked  out  of  a  flock  by 
reason  of  some  characteristic  shape  or  form,  the  question 
of  improvement  becomes  a  simple  matter.  With  a  view  to 
testing  the  theory  held  by  many  that  there  is  such  an  egg 
type,  Prof.  Dryden  sent  a  number  of  photographs  of  good 
and  poor  layers  to  poultry  breeders  and  judges,  whom  he 
asked  to  pick  out  good  and  poor  layers  in  a  certain  group, 
and  give  their  reasons  for  the  selection.  Some  of  these 
gentlemen  had  expressed  publicly  their  belief  in  the  egg 
type  theory.  It  may  be,  as  some  of  the  gentlemen  pro- 
tested, hard  to  decide  the  question  from  photographs,  but 
a  side-view  photograph  should  show  if  the  hen  has  a  long 
body  and  a  wedge  shape,  the  two  points  most  relied  upon 
by  those  who  say  they  can  pick  out  the  good  layers.  It 
must  be  conceded,  however,  that  the  photograph  does  not 
offer  the  same  opportunity  for  a  critical  study  as  the  hen 
herself  would.  The  replies  received  did  not  seem  to  offer 
much  support  to  the  theory.  They  showed  a  varied  col- 
lection of  guesses." 

Common-sense  management  means  success  and  liberal 
cash  returns ;  indifferent  methods  of  work  result  in  fail- 
ure. Fowls  must  be  kept  healthy ;  feed  bills  must  not  be 
allowed  to  equal  the  income,  and  there  should  be  a  con- 
stant weeding  out  of  old  and  poor  stock.  Every  summer 
and  fall  it  is  necessary  to  select  the  most  vigorous  and 
promising  pullets  for  winter  egg  production,  and  these 
fowls  need  to  be  fed  and  managed  with  that  end  in  view. 
They  are  not  to  have  the  same  feeding  and  housing  as 
birds  that  are  being  fitted  for  the  poultry  market.  Unless 
owners  are  able  and  willing  to  give  thorough  attention  to 


254  EGG  TYPE  IN  HENS 

these  details  and  bring  their  flocks  up  to  proper  condition, 
there  is  no  profit  in  poultry. 

If  a  landowner  has  wheat,  barley  or  rye,  these  grains 
may  be  substituted  for  corn  and  oats,  but  when  it  can  be 
done  without  great  expense  or  trouble,  ground  corn  and 
oats  should  be  the  staples  for  fattening  as  well  as  for  egg 
production.  Do  not  feed  whole  oats  at  any  time.  After 
the  fowls  that  are  to  be  marketed  are  placed  in  the  fatten- 
ing pens,  it  is  essential  to  feed  them  regularly  and  abun- 
dantly three  times  a  day.  Clean  water  and  grit  should  be 
constantly  supplied.  To  the  diet  of  grain  and  vegetables 
it  is  well  to  add  a  little  scrap  meat,  with  some  fat. 

A  greater  variety  of  food  is  required  for  egg  produc- 
tion. In  addition  to  the  grain  rations  mentioned,  it  is  well 
to  give  such  articles  as  millet  seed  and  sunflower  seed, 
with  a  regular  supply  of  meat  scraps  and  ground  bone. 
Clover,  cabbage  and  boiled  vegetables  of  all  kinds  are 
valuable.  Hens  make  use  of  old  mortar  and  oyster  shells 
and  it  is  not  difficult  to  supply  such  articles.  Where  a 
good  deal  of  the  food  has  to  be  purchased,  it  is  feasible 
to  procure  stale  bread  at  city  bakeries.  This  is  sold  at  a 
low  figure.  Table  refuse  obtained  from  hotels  and  res- 
taurants make  a  good  diet  in  itself,  but  is  improved  by 
the  addition  of  grain.  Laying  hens  need  exercise,  and 
should  be  let  out  on  every  dry  day,  but  never  when  it  is 
wet.  Their  housing  must  be  managed  with  intelligence 
and  care.  It  is  ruinous  to  have  fowls  on  damp  floors  or 
in  drafty  rooms.    Filth  is  equally  dangerous. 

Many  flocks  of  hens  are  totally  ruined  by  lice  and  dis- 
ease. To  keep  them  free  of  vermin,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
dusting  corners  to  which  they  can  have  access  at  any  time, 
winter  or  summer.  By  using  insect  powders  on  the  birds 
and  washing  roosts  and  walls  with  kerosene,  lice  can  be 
conquered.  Afterward  the  hens  will  not  be  troubled  with 
them  if  there  is  plenty  of  dust  at  hand.    Ordinary  loose 


EGG  TYPE  IN  HENS  255 

road  dirt  should  be  spread  under  the  roosts  once  or  twice 
a  week.    This  will  help  to  make  valuable  compost. 

Losses  in  the  poultry  yard  are  heavy  enough  in  many 
cases  to  wipe  out  all  possible  profits.  Chicken  raisers  who 
mean  business  will  give  intelligent  care  to  their  stock  at 
all  ages  and  in  all  seasons.  The  most  common  mistake  is 
that  of  allowing  young  birds  to  run  about  on  wet  ground. 

Perhaps  the  reader  has  noticed  that  deaths  are  most 
frequent  immediately  after  rain  storms.  Nearly  all  such 
fatalities  are  due  to  young  chickens  becoming  chilled  on 
wet  ground.  They  are  as  sensitive  as  children,  and  are 
attacked  with  a  variety  of  ailments  in  much  the  same  way, 
if  not  kept  dry  and  comfortable. 

In  rainy  weather  see  that  the  young  flocks  are  kept  in 
snug  pens  or  houses  where  the  floors  can  not  become 
damp.  Some  warming  foods  are  desirable.  This  kind  of 
care  is  good  for  matured  fowls,  also.  While  houses  need 
to  be  clean  and  warm,  they  must  be  ventilated.  Do  not 
allow  drafts  to  hit  the  fowls.  Ventilators  should  not  be 
over  the  roosts.  It  is  safest  to  have  them  low  in  the  walls 
and  some  distance  from  the  roosts. 

For  real  success  and  money-making  from  the  flock,  it 
is  necessary  to  keep  a  close  watch;  to  provide  all  com- 
forts ;  to  prevent  disease  by  never  allowing  filth  to  accu- 
mulate; to  keep  the  fowls  busy,  hence  happy;  to  not 
overcrowd,  and  to  give  an  everyday  careful  oversight. 
The  comforts  mean  the  right  rations  in  plentiful  supply, 
good  housing,  grit,  charcoal  and  clean  water. 

To  the  man  who  wishes  to  enter  the  poultry  business 
at  a  small  expense,  I  would  advise  stocking  with  a  dozen 
hens  of  some  good  breed.  It  is  well  not  to  try  to  do 
much  until  the  beginner  has  learned  how  to  make  a  small 
flock  pay.  I  find  it  profitable  to  market  eggs  where  they 
must  be  guaranteed  fresh,  working  up  a  good  trade  for 
the  produce  at  a  fair  price. 


Preservation  of  Eggs  Until  Prices  Advance 

In  the  production  of  eggs  for  market,  farmers  should 
aim  to  have  them  to  sell  in  fall  and  winter,  when  prices 
are  high.  Extensive  experiments  with  the  use  of  water 
glass  (sodium  silicate)  prove  that  spring  and  summer 
eggs  may  be  kept  in  perfect  order  for  months,  with  little 
trouble  or  expense. 

The  fiscal  supervisor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Charles 
Dennis  McCarthy,  has  been  following  this  plan  in  pro- 
viding eggs  for  various  public  institutions,  and  has  saved 
a  great  deal  of  money.  The  eggs  are  purchased  in  the 
spring,  when  prices  are  low,  and  stored  until  winter,  so 
that  the  state  institutions  avoid  paying  high  prices.  A 
year  ago  it  was  suggested  to  all  institutions  reporting  to 
the  fiscal  supervisor  to  preserve  eggs  for  use  in  the 
months  when  the  market  price  is  the  highest — December, 
January  and  February — and  a  statement  was  enclosed  to 
each  institution,  relating  to  preservation  of  eggs  in  water 
glass,  furnished  the  department  by  the  New  York  State 
College  of  Agriculture.  A  number  of  institutions  acted 
upon  the  suggestion  of  the  department  and  preserved  a 
considerable  number  of  eggs  in  liquid  glass,  which  proved 
successful  beyond  expectation. 

Water  glass  provides  an  excellent  means  of  preserving 
the  surplus  spring  and  summer  eggs  for  fall  and  winter 
use.  These  eggs  do  not  take  the  place  of  fresh  laid  ones 
for  table  use,  but  are  satisfactory  for  all  cooking 
purposes. 

Dilute  the  commercial  "N"  grade  of  water  glass  with 
nine  times  its  amount  of  clear  water.    Keep  this  solution 

256 


PRESERVATION  OF  EGGS  257 

in  tight  earthen  or  wooden  jars.  Only  fresh,  clean  eggs 
should  be  used.  The  level  of  the  liquid  should  always  be 
kept  above  that  of  the  eggs  by  adding  water  as  needed. 

For  twelve  dozen  eggs,  it  requires  a  four-gallon  jar, 
one  and  one-half  pints  of  water  glass  and  fourteen  pints 
of  water. 

In  considering  how  to  handle  poultry  for  profit,  does 
it  not  become  plain  that  the  overproduction  of  eggs  in 
spring  and  summer  is  a  serious  mistake  ?  Eggs  become  so 
cheap  at  times  that  farmers  cannot  afford  to  haul  them  to 
market.  There  is  a  good  profit  in  poultry,  however,  the 
year  round,  especially  in  broilers  about  2  months  old. 

Instead  of  allowing  the  overproduction  of  eggs  to  drive 
the  market  down  to  8  or  10  cents  a  dozen,  why  not  keep  a 
big  incubator  running,  hatching  out  chickens  ?  A  broiler 
will  bring  40  to  60  cents,  three-fourths  of  this  being  net 
profit.  Such  farming  is  worth  while.  An  ordinary  sized 
poultry  yard  will  clean  up  $1,000  a  year  if  it  receives  a 
reasonable  amount  of  attention,  and  only  an  acre  or  two 
of  land  is  needed  for  the  enterprise.  It  takes  a  great 
many  acres  to  net  $1,000  in  regular  farming. 

The  selection  of  eggs  for  incubation  is  important.  Do 
not  use  eggs  for  this  purpose  which  have  rough  shells,  or 
are  unusually  large  or  small.  Hold  the  eggs  before  a 
strong  light  and  look  through  them.  If  they  have  a 
matted  appearance,  they  are  not  fit  to  produce  strong 
chicks,  and  as  a  rule  they  are  not  fertile. 

Soft-shelled  eggs  will  not  produce  strong  chicks,  be- 
cause in  growing  the  chicks  the  lime  from  the  shell  pro- 
duces the  bones  and  muscles.  If  the  shell  is  weak,  the 
chick  will  be  weak  also.  Soiled  or  washed  eggs  should 
never  be  used  for  hatching. 

Eggs  should  be  kept  in  a  temperature  of  about  45 
degrees,  if  possible,  and  should  never  be  kept  where  the 
wind  can  blow  on  them,  or  where  the  sun  shines  strongly. 


258  PRESERVATION  OF  EGGS 

If  the  draft  is  too  strong,  the  eggs  will  dry  down.  If 
eggs  are  dried  down  before  hatching,  the  chicks  will  be 
dried  down,  small  and  weak. 

Eggs  for  incubation  should  not  be  laid  longer  than  a 
week.  The  older  the  egg,  the  lower  the  vitality  of  the 
chick.  Usually  the  cellar  is  the  best  place  for  keeping 
eggs,  for  here  the  temperature  is  more  even,  and  it  is  not 
too  dry. 

The  first  two  or  three  days  after  the  setting  of  the  incu- 
bator are  vital.  The  heat  should  never  get  higher  than 
102  degrees;  a  little  below  will  do  no  harm.  For  the 
first  two  days  the  eggs  should  not  be  turned,  but  there- 
after turn  every  morning  and  evening  until  the  eighteenth 
day,  when  they  should  not  be  touched  until  all  fertile  eggs 
are  hatched. 

Have  both  ventilation  and  moisture  in  hatching  rooms. 
The  cellar  is  usually  about  right  where  there  is  a  floor, 
and  if  there  is  an  outside  entrance  it  should  not  remain 
open. 

Chicks  hatched  where  there  is  moisture  are  stronger 
than  dried-down,  non-moisture  ones.  Do  not  allow  strong 
sunlight  or  too  much  draft  in  the  hatching  room. 

The  last  few  days,  do  not  handle  the  eggs,  and  keep  the 
temperature  not  higher  than  105  degrees,  nor  below  103. 

Sometimes  the  chicks,  after  they  are  dried  off,  open 
their  mouths  and  seem  to  want  air ;  then  open  some  venti- 
lator or  open  the  incubator  door  a  little. 

In  gathering  eggs  for  incubation,  give  the  hens  enough 
good,  clean  food  and  exercise  and  clean  quarters.  They 
should  have  free  range,  if  possible.  Meat  scraps,  lime, 
milk,  ground  bone,  oyster  shells,  wheat  and  bran  mash 
are  excellent  for  laying  hens.  Plenty  of  fresh,  clean 
drinking  water  should  be  within  reach.  Green  or  cooked 
vegetables  are  also  good  for  the  health  of  the  hen,  and 
make  healthy  chicks. 


Favorite  Breeds  of  Ducks 

Less  disappointment  will  be  experienced,  perhaps,  in 
raising  ducks  than  any  other  line  of  poultry.  Ducks  grow 
into  money  fast,  and  this  is  the  main  consideration.  They 
are  less  subject  to  disease  than  chickens,  and  make  less 
trouble  than  either  turkeys  or  geese. 

If  possible,  give  them  the  range  of  a  patch  of  clover, 
but  if  they  have  to  be  confined  to  a  yard,  let  them  have 
a  swimming  hole  and  a  variety  of  greed  food.  Pekin 
ducks  are  in  great  favor,  and  are  good  layers,  beginning 
in  midwinter,  and  furnishing  twelve  to  fifteen  dozen 
eggs. 

The  Indian  Runner  will  lay  at  four  and  a  half  to  five 
months  old,  if  fed  for  that  purpose.  Some  have  been 
known  to  reach  250  eggs  a  year,  but  the  general  run  is 
about  200.  They  are  non-sitters,  will  lay  ten  months  in 
the  year,  and  are  profitable  because  of  their  wonderful 
laying  qualities.  It  does  not  require  any  more  to  feed 
them  than  it  does  to  feed  a  flock  of  hens  of  the  same 
number. 

Hatching  by  incubator  is  the  best  method,  and  the  busi- 
ness ought  to  be  in  progress  by  March  1.  With  this  kind 
of  planning,  young  Pekins  can  be  furnished  to  customers 
from  the  middle  of  June  till  fall,  and  possibly  the  year 
round.  The  young  ducks  should  be  fed  both  for  growth 
and  quality.  For  one  day  after  hatching  no  food  is  to  be 
given.  Then  light  'rations  of  moistened  bran  and  corn 
meal  will  do  nicely.  Heavy  feeding  is  to  be  avoided  at 
first.    When  spring  opens  and  they  begin  to  get  free  exer- 

259 


260  FAVORITE  BREEDS  OF  DUCKS 

cise,  they  should  have  all  the  food  that  they  will  clean 
up.    They  also  require  a  clean  swimming  hole  or  pond. 

Fatten  them  on  clean,  wholesome  food,  such  as  shorts, 
boiled  potatoes,  ground  corn  or  oats.  Ducks  are  in  great 
demand  when  from  two  to  four  months  old,  if  they  have 
been  carefully  fed.  They  are  as  profitable  at  this  age  as 
later,  for  they  are  heavy  feeders,  and  in  fattening  at  the 
age  of  eight  or  ten  months  they  eat  a  lot  of  grain.  Not 
only  is  this  the  case,  but  at  two  or  three  months  they  com- 
mand from  25  to  35  cents  a  pound,  against  18  to  20  when 
full  grown. 

In  fattening  more  mature  ducks,  whole  corn  or  wheat 
may  be  fed  to  some  extent.  Boiled  potatoes,  carrots,  beets 
and  various  other  vegetables  are  excellent.  Bran  or  shorts 
moistened  with  skimmed  milk  also  makes  an  economical 
food.  Articles  of  this  kind  save  high-priced  grain  and 
answer   the   purpose   nicely   in   fitting   poultry    for   the 

market. 

For  the  flock  that  is  to  be  kept  for  breeding  purposes, 
more  green  food  is  necessary.  Alfalfa,  either  whole  or 
ground,  and  corn  silage,  are  recommended,  with  one 
ration  a  day  of  wheat  or  corn.  Always  feed  soft  food  in 
long  troughs,  and  have  plenty  of  them,  to  avoid  crowding ; 
and  when  the  meal  is  over,  stand  the  troughs  on  end 
against  the  wall  to  keep  them  clean  for  the  next  meal. 

While  ducks  are  the  healthiest  of  domestic  fowl,  espe- 
cially if  allowed  considerable  freedom  in  summer,  they 
require  clean  and  comfortable  pens  in  winter,  with  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  room.  It  is  bad  policy  to  allow  ducks 
or  other  fowl  to  be  disturbed  by  live  stock.  The  laying 
quarters  at  least  should  be  free  from  noise  and  all  other 
disturbances. 

The  opportunity  is  at  hand  for  money-making  from 
ducks,  as  farmers  are  able  to  send  dressed  fowls  to  city 
customers  by  mail,  so  that  the  usual  trouble  and  expense 
of  marketing  are  eliminated.     Fresh  fowls  may  go  daily 


FAVORITE  BREEDS  OF  DUCKS  261 

or  weekly  to  town  people,  without  the  necessity  of  driving 
to  an  express  office.  The  postal  wagons  on  all  rural 
routes  will  collect  such  packages,  and  Uncle  Sam  does  all 
the  work  of  transporting  and  delivering.  To  make  good 
profits,  therefore,  from  poultry,  there  should  be  incu- 
bators going  all  the  time,  hatching  either  chickens  or 
ducks,  which  will  sell  readily  for  meat  at  from  two  to 
six  months  of  age.  Such  poultry  meat  is  a  great  deli- 
cacy, and  commands  liberal  prices. 

Pekin  ducks  at  two  months  are  worth  rather  more  than 
chickens  of  the  same  age.  Either  class  of  birds  will  sell 
at  40  cents  to  75  cents  apiece,  according  to  weight.  Ducks 
eat  more  than  chickens,  and  gain  in  weight  proportion- 
ately. Ten  to  15  cents  is  ample  to  allow  for  feeding  a 
fowl  up  to  two  months  of  age.  This  allows  a  large  profit. 
Birds  fattened  at  six  or  seven  months  have  consumed  15 
to  25  cents'  worth  of  food,  according  to  the  advantages 
of  raising  or  buying  it.  They  are  then  worth  $1  to  $1.50 
each.    There  is  more  profit  in  meat  than  in  eggs. 

In  order  to  succeed  with  ducks,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
eggs  from  strong,  vigorous  stock,  and  they  must  be  fresh 
— not  over  one  week  old.  Other  duck  eggs  may  be  differ- 
ent, but  the  Pekin's  eggs  are  worthless  for  hatching  pur- 
poses when  ten  days  old. 

Duck  eggs,  as  a  rule,  require  four  weeks  to  hatch. 
They  may  be  hatched  with  either  incubators  or  hens. 
Only  large  hens  are  suitable.  If  an  incubator  is  used, 
keep  the  temperature  as  near  103  degrees  as  possible, 
turning  the  eggs  regularly  twice  a  day.  They  should  be 
allowed  time  to  cool  a  little  once  each  day  until  the 
twenty-sixth  day,  or  two  days  before  they  are  due  to 
hatch. 

When  ducks  begin  to  pip  the  shells,  the  temperature 
may  be  allowed  to  rise  to  104  or  105,  but  be  careful  not 
to  let  it  go  higher.  Protect  the  ventilators  from  cold 
drafts,  but  don't  shut  out  all  the  air. 


262  FAVORITE  BREEDS  OF  DUCKS 

Don't  bother  the  eggs  while  they  are  hatching,  unless  it 
it  is  absolutely  necessary,  because  it  lowers  the  tempera- 
ture every  time  the  inner  door  is  moved.  Of  course,  in 
the  mild  weather  it  is  safe  enough,  but  even  then  the  door 
should  be  kept  closed  as  much  as  possible.  If  the  little 
ducks  do  not  come  out  shortly  after  they  pip  the  shells,  do 
not  become  alarmed.  They  do  not  come  out  as  soon  as 
chicks,  as  they  require  more  time  after  breaking  the  shell. 
In  this  respect  they  are  more  like  goslings. 

Sometimes  they  will  break  the  shells  twenty- four  hours 
before  they  are  ready  to  come  out.  But  they  seldom  need 
any  help.  A  duck  egg  presents  a  queer  appearance  at  a 
certain  stage  of  incubation,  for  when  held  before  a 
bright  light  the  shells  appear  to  be  nearly  half  empty. 

Don't  throw  the  eggs  away.  They  may  all  contain  live 
ducklings.  When  the  fowls  hatch,  they  should  not  be 
taken  from  the  incubator  until  they  are  thoroughly  dried 
off  and  able  to  hold  up  their  heads.  Then  they  should  be 
placed  in  a  brooder  or  some  place  where  they  will  be 
comfortable.  If  placed  in  a  brooder,  see  that  they  have 
fresh  air.    Fresh  air,  however,  is  not  essentially  cold  air. 

Have  the  brooder  floor  covered  with  some  clean  litter. 
Cut  straw  or  hay  is  best.  Don't  use  sawdust ;  the  young 
ducks  will  sometimes  eat  it.  However,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  keep  ducklings  in  a  brooder  except  at  night,  after  they 
get  a  start.  Even  while  they  are  very  small,  they  seem  to 
prefer  sunshine  in  the  daytime  to  the  brooder  heat.  The 
Pekin  ducklings  soon  outgrow  the  brooder.  A  number  of 
duck  houses  should  be  provided,  with  dry  floors  and  good 
ventilation. 

Green  food  is  essential  from  the  start.  If  there  is 
plenty  of  grass  in  the  yard,  that  will  do,  although  they  like 
it  best  when  added  to  their  grain  food.  Use  green  clover, 
green  rye,  cabbage,  dandelions,  onion  tops,  etc.  Green 
oats  are  also  good  for  this  purpose.  All  should  be  cut 
small  enough  for  growing  ducks  to  eat  with  ease. 


Disease  Injuring  Turkey  Raising  Industry 

The  turkey-raising  industry  has  been  almost  destroyed  by 
disease.  Not  only  in  New  England  but  everywhere  in 
this  country  the  commercial  production  of  the  turkey  has 
been  reduced  to  small  proportions. 

That  dread  disease  known  as  blackhead  is  the  cause, 
and  as  it  is  rapidly  spreading  throughout  the  country,  it 
is  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  not  only  to  professional 
breeders  but  to  farmers  as  well.  For  some  years  previous 
to  1893  the  poultrymen  in  New  England  complained  that 
their  young  poults  died  in  large  numbers,  and  very  few 
birds  lived  to  be  older  than  five  or  six  months.  Samuel 
Cushman,  the  poultryman  at  the  Rhode  Island  Agricul- 
tural Station,  gave  the  symptoms,  described  the  conditions 
of  the  diseased  organs,  and  suggested  the  communicable 
character  of  the  ailment.  He  was  the  first  man  to  call  it 
blackhead  in  literature,  a  name  used  by  the  farmers  for 
the  reason  that  the  heads  of  the  turkeys  became  dark- 
colored.  Other  names  for  the  disorder  were  "liver 
trouble,"  "spotted  liver"  and  "cholera."  A  close  observer 
is  pretty  sure  to  detect  the  ailment. 

Prof.  Leon  J.  Cole  and  Philip  B.  Hadley,  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Station,  assisted  by  William  F.  Kirkpatrick,  have 
made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  disease,  and  their  find- 
ings have  recently  been  published.  The  main  features 
of  the  results  of  their  investigation  are  as  follows :  Black- 
head, in  whatever  species  of  bird,  presents  three  symp- 
toms which  are  invariable:  First,  diarrhoea  at  some 
stages  of  the  disease;  second,  a  condition  of  increasing 
languor  or  stupor  and  a  disposition  of  the  bird  to  keep 

263 


264  DISEASE  INJURING  TURKEY 

away  from  the  flock ;  third,  loss  of  appetite  and  more  or 
less  prolonged  emaciation. 

The  first  course  which  the  disease  may  follow  is  seen 
in  young  birds,  in  what  is  commonly  known  as  "white 
diarrhoea,"  frequently  causing  great  mortality  among 
poults  from  five  days  to  three  weeks  old,  although  deaths 
may  continue  much  beyond  this  period.  In  these  cases, 
death  is  sometimes  preceded  by  a  period  of  a  day  or  two 
of  stupor,  in  which  the  bird  remains  by  itself  and  refuses 
food.  This  acute  form  is  more  likely  to  attack  the 
younger  birds,  and  frequently  causes  the  death  of  90  per 
cent,  and  occasionally  the  entire  flock  will  be  wiped  out. 

If  the  disease  does  not  show  until  after  the  birds  are 
three  weeks  old,  it  is  likely  to  remain  latent  in  them  or 
change  into  a  slowly  progressive  form  which  may  not 
cause  death  for  several  months.  In  the  typical  chronic 
form,  the  birds  often  hold  their  own  against  the  disease 
for  a  year  or  more,  during  which  time  emaciation  gradu- 
ally increases.  In  these  birds,  the  disease  is  ultimately 
fatal  in  the  majority  of  cases. 

One  of  the  most  important  features  of  this  disease  is 
that  turkeys  having  a  chronic  form  of  the  disease  are 
especially  susceptible  to  the  effects  of  unfavorable  con- 
ditions. Quick  fattening  of  a  flock  of  turkeys  for  the 
market,  especially  if  the  young  birds  are  fed  much  corn, 
often  brings  about  a  marked  increase  in  the  mortality. 

The  organism  which  causes  blackhead  is  a  minute  para- 
site belonging  to  the  lowest  group  of  animal  life,  and  is 
called  a  cocidium,  and  is  akin  to  the  parasites  of  hydro- 
phobia and  malaria.  The  infection  of  the  bird  begins  in 
taking  up,  along  with  food  and  water,  some  of  the  para- 
sites described.  These  may  undergo  a  partial  development 
before  being  taken  into  the  body  of  the  bird,  and  after 
entering  the  alimentary  tract,  where  they  liberate  the  orig- 
inal infecting  elements.  These  are  able  to  impart  infection 


DISEASE  INJURING  TURKEY  265 

to  other  birds,  which  take  up  particles  along  with  their 
food.  The  same  organism  has  been  found  in  guinea  fowls, 
ducks,  pheasants,  quail,  grouse,  pigeons  and  sparrows. 

The  chief  danger  lies  in  the  fact  that  where  domestic 
poultry  is  kept,  the  ground  is  contaminated  and  rendered 
unsuitable  for  the  raising  of  turkeys.  For  this  reason  it  is 
never  safe  to  allow  turkeys  and  other  poultry  to  use  the 
same  yard.  The  investigators  say  that  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  common  English  sparrow  has  dissemi- 
nated this  disease  throughout  the  country,  and  it  is  still 
carrying  it  from  one  locality  to  another. 

Poultrymen  and  farmers  are  advised  not  to  waste  their 
money  on  so-called  remedies  and  cures  for  blackhead, 
but  to  follow  the  preventive  measures  indicated  below : 

Protect  the  yards  and  flocks  which  may  be  infected 
with  blackhead,  by  careful  examination  of  all  new  stock, 
whether  turkeys,  fowls,  geese  or  other  domestic  birds. 

Keep  the  turkeys  on  ground  which  is  as  fresh  as  can 
be  obtained.  Change  the  range  at  least  every  year  or 
two,  and,  above  all,  keep  them  isolated  from  other 
poultry. 

In  fattening  birds  for  market,  begin  to  increase  the 
rations  gradually.  If  birds  show  a  loss  of  weight  in  suc- 
cessive weighings,  there  is  no  use  to  attempt  to  fatten 
them.  Overfeeding  does  not  cause  blackhead,  but  it  does 
frequently  cause  the  sudden  death  of  birds  in  which 
blackhead  is  present. 

When  birds  have  died  of  blackhead,  their  bodies  must 
be  promptly  burned  or  buried  very  deep,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent rats  or  other  rodents  from  eating  them  and  thus 
spreading  the  disease.  In  the  early  stages  of  acute  cases 
of  the  disease,  if  the  bird  is  isolated  from  the  flock  and 
placed  in  a  dry,  well  ventilated  location,  free  from  drafts, 
and  fed  sparingly  on  soft,  light  food,  with  little  corn,  it 
will  have  a  beneficial  effect. 


Parasites  Cause  Heavy  Poultry  Losses 

Vermin  are  exceedingly  destructive  to  poultry,  and  in 
many  cases  cause  such  heavy  losses  that  the  business 
becomes  a  failure.  An  unrelenting  war  against  parasites 
is  a  necessary  part  of  a  farm  program. 

Lice  and  other  parasites  increase  very  quickly  in  the 
warm  weather,  and  we  should  get  a  start  of  them  by 
exterminating  the  parent  stock  that  has  survived  the  win- 
ter. In  this  way,  the  work  will  be  much  easier,  and  more 
pleasantly  done.  The  necessity  for  their  extermination 
will  be  more  plainly  seen  if  we  understand  just  how  they 
affect  the  poultry. 

There  are  a  great  many  different  kinds  of  lice  that 
attack  the  fowls,  but  we  can  consider  them  all  under 
three  classes,  as  they  attack  in  the  three  different  ways. 
These  three  classes  are  body  lice,  head  lice  and  mites.  The 
body  lice  are  on  all  parts  of  the  fowls'  bodies,  but  more 
especially  in  the  soft,  fluffy  feathers.  They  usually  remain 
on  the  fowl,  and  they  increase  very  rapidly.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  within  eight  weeks  one  of  the  lice  will  have 
125,000  descendants.  You  will  see  from  this  how  much 
easier  it  is  for  one  to  destroy  these  pests  before  they  get 
well  started  in  the  spring. 

Body  lice  are  not  blood-suckers,  but  live  on  the  roots 
of  the  feathers  and  scales  of  the  skin,  causing  irritation. 
In  getting  rid  of  them,  nothing  equals  a  good  insect  pow- 
der. Hold  the  fowl  by  the  legs,  head  down,  and  dust  the 
powder  into  the  feathers  near  the  roots,  rubbing  it  well 
into  the  feathers  and  skin  with  the  hand. 

Head  lice  are  true  blood-suckers.    With  their  long  bills, 

266 


PARASITES  CAUSE  HEAVY  LOSSES  267 

they  puncture  the  skin  and  the  blood  vessels  beneath. 
They  are  a  constant  drain  on  the  health  and  strength  of 
the  adult  fowls,  fastening  themselves  on  their  heads  and 
sucking  the  blood  from  a  position  over  the  brain.  As  the 
chicks  are  hatched,  these  lice  leave  the  old  hen  and  fasten 
on  the  chicks.  If  you  pick  up  a  droopy  chick  and  examine 
its  head,  you  are  almost  sure  to  find  these  lice  fast  by 
their  bills,  busily  sucking  the  blood.  You  must  look  close, 
or  you  will  mistake  them  for  pinfeathers.  They  cause 
such  extreme  weakness  that  often  the  bodily  organs  are 
unable  to  perform  their  functions  properly,  and  people 
think  the  chicks  are  dying  of  cholera  or  other  diseases, 
when  it  is  really  the  head  lice  that  are  killing  them.  To 
destroy  these,  rub  some  sweet  oil  or  lard  well  into  the 
feathers  and  skin  on  the  heads  of  the  chicks,  and  of  the 
older  fowls  also. 

Mites  are  even  worse  than  these  others.  They  hide 
during  the  day  in  the  cracks  and  crevices  of  the  hen 
houses,  especially  about  the  roosts,  and  attack  the  fowls  at 
night,  after  they  have  gone  to  roost.  Mites  are  very  small, 
and  if  you  see  them,  you  are  likely  to  mistake  them  for 
dust,  for  they  have  that  appearance.  They,  too,  are 
blood-suckers,  and  rapidly  deplete  the  health  and  strength 
of  the  fowl.  To  destroy  them,  a  liquid  is  much  better 
than  a  powder.  Paint  the  roosts  and  spray  the  dropping- 
boards  and  walls  with  a  preparation  of  crude  carbolic 
acid  and  coal  oil  (kerosene),  mixed  half  and  half. 

There  is  another  parasite  belonging  to  this  family, 
called  the  depluming  mite.  It  usually  appears  in  the 
spring  and  summer,  and  attacks  the  roots  of  the  feathers, 
causing  them  to  break  off  and  leave  a  bare  spot. 

The  mite  is  quickly  passed  from  fowl  to  fowl,  and  soon 
spreads  through  the  entire  flock.  You  will  not  see  any- 
thing suspicious  on  the  bare  spots,  but  if  you  will  pull  out 
some  of  the  feathers  and  examine  the  roots,  you  will  see 
these  mites. 


268  PARASITES  CAUSE  HEAVY  LOSSES 

Spray  the  houses  as  for  the  other  mites,  and  rub  car- 
bolated  vaseline  into  the  roots  of  the  feathers.  It  is  also 
a  good  treatment  to  dip  the  fowls  in  a  tea  made  from 
tobacco  leaves. 

The  stick-tight,  or  hen  flea,  is  a  great  pest  in  some  of 
the  southern  states.  It  generally  attaches  itself  to  the 
comb  or  wattles  of  the  fowl,  burying  its  head  in  the  flesh. 
Sometimes  they  crowd  around  the  eyes,  and  cause  blind- 
ness until  removed.  They  stick  so  tightly  that  they  cannot 
be  pulled  out.  Mix  ten  drops  of  carbolic  acid  and  some 
sulphur  with  a  teaspoonful  of  vaseline,  to  make  a  soft 
paste.  Rub  this  well  into  the  feathers  and  skin  of  the 
head  and  wattles  of  the  fowls. 

The  premises  must  be  cleaned  of  the  fleas  also.  Burn 
all  litter  and  trash,  and  spray  the  ground,  nests  and  houses 
with  the  coal  oil  and  crude  carbolic  acid  preparation. 

There  is  another  parasite  that  causes  the  disease  called 
scaly  leg  by  boring  under  the  skin  of  the  feet  and  legs  of 
the  fowls.  They  cause  a  powderous  secretion  which 
enlarges  the  feet  and  legs  of  the  fowl,  giving  them  a 
rough,  ugly  appearance.  Dip  the  feet  and  legs  in  coal  oil, 
rubbing  with  the  hand,  and  allowing  it  to  soak  well  in. 

You  cannot  make  a  success  of  your  poultry  if  they  are 
troubled  with  lice.  To  be  a  good  layer,  a  hen  must  be  kept 
comfortable  and  happy.  This  is  impossible  if  she  is 
fretted  and  annoyed  by  these  pests.  Imagine  a  flock  that 
fights  head  lice  and  body  lice  all  day,  with  perhaps  hen 
fleas  and  scaly  leg  in  addition,  going  to  roost  at  night,  to 
be  tortured  by  mites  which  swarm  from  the  hiding  places 
and  cover  them.  These  are  apt  to  be  the  conditions  in  a 
dirty  poultry  house,  where  the  filth  is  allowed  to  accumu- 
late under  the  roosts  and  in  the  corners.  The  fowls,  with 
their  vitality  weakened  and  their  strength  sapped  by  these 
parasites,  take  cold  easily,  and  quickly  succumb  to  disease. 
They  are  always  in  poor  health,  although  eating  heartily ; 
and  the  poultryman  finds  that  while  his  feed  bill  is  no  less, 


PARASITES  CAUSE  HEAVY  LOSSES  269 

he  gets  no  eggs,  his  poultry  does  not  sell  well  because  it 
is  poor,  and  his  young  chicks  die.  Such  a  man  says  there 
is  no  profit  in  the  poultry  line,  and  indeed  there  is  none 
for  him. 

Cleanliness  is  one  of  the  greatest  aids  in  bettering  this 
condition,  for  these  parasites  breed  in  the  filth  and  dirt. 
Give  the  house  a  thorough  cleaning.  Burn  the  old  litter 
and  nests,  scrape  the  floors  clean,  paint  the  roosts  and  nest 
boxes,  and  spray  the  walls  and  floor  with  crude  carbolic 
acid  and  coal  oil. 

Put  insect  powder  on  the  fowls,  grease  their  heads,  and 
dip  their  feet  and  legs  in  coal  oil.  It  will  be  time  well 
invested. 

The  hens  will  help  you  in  this  work  of  extermination, 
if  you  will  see  that  they  are  kept  supplied  with  a  good 
dust  bath.  Mix  ashes  with  the  dirt  for  the  bath.  All  this 
may  seem  like  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  but  success  is  never 
attained  in  any  business  without  painstaking  care  and 
faithful  work. 

In  the  matter  of  diet,  the  first  thing  needed  is  water, 
and  it  must  not  be  chilly.  Some  coarse,  clean  sand  should 
be  placed  in  the  water  each  time,  or  in  some  shallow  vessel 
near  the  feed  or  water.  They  need  both  grit  and  water 
while  eating. 

Hens  that  have  been  confined  closely  for  months,  and 
have  been  laying  in  the  winter  months,  or  that  are  poorly 
fed,  and  are  kept  in  dirty  houses,  where  lice  and  mites 
prevail,  cannot  produce  healthy  eggs,  and  will  produce 
only  poor,  weakly  chicks. 


Poultry  Diseases  and  Remedies 

When  fowls  are  closely  grouped  or  kept  in  filthy  or 
draughty  buildings  there  is  apt  to  be  a  development  and 
rapid  spread  of  destructive  ailments.  Climatic  changes, 
floor  dampness  and  wet  grounds  are  severe  on  chickens. 
Attention  to  health  and  feeding  will  not  only  prevent 
losses  but  will  bring  profits. 

Usually  the  first  symptom  of  tuberculosis  noticed  is 
emaciation,  or  "going  light,"  accompanied  often  though 
not  always  with  a  pale  appearance  of  the  comb  and  wat- 
tles and  the  skin  about  the  head.  There  is  frequently, 
though  not  always,  a  persistent  diarrhoea,  the  drop- 
pings appearing  of  a  green  or  greenish-white  color. 
Lameness  in  one  or  both  legs  may  occur,  due  to  infection 
of  the  joints.  In  the  latter  stages  of  the  disease,  the 
feathers  become  dry  and  ruffled,  the  bird  becomes  weak 
and  mopy  and  moves  but  little.  The  eye  is  bright  and 
the  appetite  is  usually  good  throughout  the  sickness  and 
the  affected  fowls  may  eat  ravenously  until  a  few  days 
before  death  occurs. 

Probably  the  commonest  method  of  spread  of  tuber- 
culosis from  flock  to  flock  is  by  the  transfer  of  infected 
birds.  A  hen  may  be  quite  seriously  affected  without 
showing  any  external  symptoms  of  the  disease,  and  such 
an  individual  when  introduced  into  a  flock  can  serve  as 
a  source  of  infection  for  other  fowls  through  the  medium 
of  the  droppings. 

To  guard  against  tuberculosis  give  the  best  care  to  all 
fowls  that  can  reasonably  be  given.  Keep  their  houses 
clean,  well  ventilated  and  free  from  draughts.     Furnish 

270 


POULTRY  DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES  271 

a  regular  supply  and  good  variety  of  food.  See  that  they 
exercise  sufficiently  and  have  a  healthy,  vigorous  appear- 
ance. Use  only  sound  stock  for  breeding,  and  try  to 
select  a  line  of  birds  possessing  superior  qualifications. 
This  is  the  only  way  to  handle  poultry  for  success,  and 
such  management  will  ward  off  nearly  all  diseases. 

Asthemia,  or  "going  light,"  has  symptoms  like  tuber- 
culosis. If  the  owner  of  the  flock  is  in  doubt  and  cannot 
get  an  expert's  opinion  it  will  be  safe  to  give  quarter- 
grain  doses  of  calomel  three  times  a  day  in  mash.  In- 
stead of  this  castor  oil  may  be  given  three  times  a  day  in 
tablespoonful  doses.  Two  days  of  this  treatment  or  a 
week  of  the  calomel  treatment  ought  to  suffice  for  clear- 
ing out  the  bacteria,  and  afterward  the  food  should  be 
more  than  ordinarily  stimulating. 

Cholera  is  first  detected  by  noticing  yellow  excrement. 
This  is  a  deadly  infection  and  goes  rapidly  through  a 
flock.  Birds  with  cholera  have  a  high  fever  and  become 
thirsty.  They  soon  become  weak  and  in  three  or  four 
days  expire.  When  cholera  gets  into  a  flock  the  first 
move  should  be  to  separate  the  well  from  the  sick. 
Thoroughly  disinfect  all  buildings.  A  pound  of  sulphuric 
acid  in  fifty  quarts  of  water  makes  a  good  disinfectant. 
For  medicine  a  tablespoonful  of  carbolic  acid  for  each 
quart  of  water  in  the  drinking  vessels  may  prove  effica- 
cious. For  flocks  of  any  size  the  following  cholera 
remedy  should  be  procured  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
disease  appears:  One  ounce  capsicum,  one  ounce  asa- 
fetida,  one  ounce  pulverized  rhubarb,  one  ounce  sulphur 
and  three  ounces  Spanish  brown.  Mix  and  place  in  an 
air-tight  can.  Twice  a  day  feed  an  ordinary  warm  mash 
in  which  there  is  a  teaspoonful  of  the  mixture  for  every 
quart  of  the  food. 

When  white  diarrhoea  appears  the  worst  cases  should 
be  killed  and  burned,  any  seemingly  affected  _  removed 
from  the  well  ones,  the  quarters  cleaned  and  disinfected 


272  POULTRY  DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES 

and  a  very  little  creolin  given  in  the  drinking  water.  Two 
drops  of  creolin  in  a  teaspoonful  of  water  is  recommend- 
ed. However,  a  somewhat  weakened  solution  will  prove 
effective  in  slight  cases.  Another  good  remedy  is  to 
scald  a  cupful  of  sweet  milk  to  which  has  been  added 
a  pinch  of  black  pepper.  Allow  it  to  cool  and  give  noth- 
ing else  to  drink  until  all  of  the  birds  have  had  a  drink 
of  it. 

When  blackhead  attacks  a  flock  of  turkeys  the  sick 
birds  will  have  to  be  killed  and  burned  and  all  buildings 
and  feeding  vessels  disinfected.  Turkeys  exposed  to  the 
disease  may  be  saved  by  giving  them  a  few  doses  of 
pepper  and  ginger  in  sour  milk  or  Dutch  cheese. 

Gapes  in  chickens  are  caused  by  worms  in  the  wind- 
pipe. These  worms  may  be  removed  by  using  the  tip  of 
a  feather  which  has  been  moistened  with  oil  of  cloves 
and  sweet  oil.  Insert  the  feather  in  the  windpipe,  twist 
it  around  several  times  and  then  withdraw  it.  Clean 
and  disinfect  the  premises. 

Roup  is  a  common  ailment  among  chickens,  and  re- 
sembles a  severe  cold  in  a  human.  A  simple  remedy  is  a 
little  kerosene  placed  in  the  nose  passages.  Carbolic  acid 
may  be  used  in  the  same  way — one  part  of  the  acid  to 
fifty  parts  of  water.  Use  the  Douglas  mixture  in  drink- 
ing water.  This  Douglas  mixture  is  made  as  follows: 
One-half  pound  sulphate  of  iron,  two  ounces  sulphuric 
acid  and  two  gallons  soft  water.  After  this  has  been 
mixed  let  it  settle  overnight  and  then  pour  into  bottles. 
Add  a  tablespoonful  to  each  quart  of  drinking  water. 
This  is  a  good  general  tonic  as  well  as  a  preventive  of 
disease. 

Venetian  red  placed  in  drinking  water  is  of  great  value 
in  the  poultry  house.  Use  a  tablespoonful  of  this  powder 
in  two  quarts  of  drinking  water.  The  water  can  be  re- 
newed from  day  to  day  without  using  any  more  of  the 


POULTRY  DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES  273 

Venetian  red  until  it  has  all  disappeared  from  the  bottom 
of  the  vessel. 

Owners  of  poultry  must  provide  dust  heaps  and  change 
the  dirt  as  it  seems  necessary  to  do  so,  using  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  wood  ashes  with  the  dust  if  ob- 
tainable. Tobacco  in  nests  and  whitewash  around  build- 
ings help  to  destroy  vermin.  Put  a  little  carbolic  acid  in 
the  whitewash.  An  occasional  fumigation  with  sulphur  is 
good.  There  are  efficacious  insect  powders  for  sale  at 
drug  stores.  If  lice  are  on  the  premises  rub  vaseline  or 
lard  on  the  heads  and  under  the  wings  of  young  chickens 
as  a  preventive.  This  or  insect  powder  should  also  be 
applied  where  vermin  are  observed  on  the  birds.  Keep 
buildings  and  yards  as  clean  as  possible,  using  consider- 
able slaked  lime  on  floors  and  throughout  the  yard. 

Nor  can  there  be  success  if  poultry  is  so  housed  that 
the  birds  cannot  escape  taking  cold,  the  common  causes 
of  which  are  dampness  and  draughts.  The  ordinary 
attacks  of  cold  and  influenza  develop  into  various  fatal 
diseases  unless  they  are  properly  treated.  Instead  of 
using  the  roup  remedy,  as  many  do,  owners  of  large 
flocks  ought  to  keep  on  hand  the  following:  Prepare  a 
solution  of  two  per  cent  permanganate  of  potash,  by  dis- 
solving two  ounces  of  the  permanganate  crystals  (bought 
at  any  drug  store  at  about  thirty  cents  per  pound)  in 
three  quarts  of  water.  Keep  this  solution  ready,  and 
when  a  bird  shows  the  first  signs  of  nose  or  throat  trouble 
take  enough  of  the  solution  to  allow  the  head  of  the  fowl 
to  be  submerged  and  put  it  under  until  the  bird  nearly 
chokes.  Remove  the  bird's  head  from  the  liquid  and 
allow  it  to  sneeze  and  sputter,  forcing  the  liquid  into  all 
the  air  passages.  Repeat  this  three  times  before  you  let 
the  bird  go,  and  repeat  it  twice  a  day  until  the  fowl  no 
longer  shows  signs  of  disease.  The  operation  is  simple 
and  in  the  majority  of  cases  entirely  sufficient.     Potas- 


274  POULTRY  DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES 

sium  permanganate  is  an  excellent  disinfectant  and  can  be 
given  to  the  birds  to  drink  with  the  result  that  many 
other  cases  will  be  warded  off.  When  given  in  drinking 
water,  only  enough  should  be  placed  in  the  water  to  give 
it  a  claret  color.  The  birds  can  be  given  water  thus 
treated  for  three  or  four  days  at  a  time.  No  other  water 
should  be  placed  where  they  can  get  it,  otherwise  they 
will  prefer  the  untreated  water  to  that  containing  the 
drug. 

The  greatest  advantage  that  I  see  in  raising  chickens 
artificially  is  that  the  chicks  can  be  kept  free  from  lice 
from  the  moment  they  are  hatched  until  they  are  full 
grown,  provided  the  poultry  raiser  will  exercise  cleanly 
methods  of  management.  By  this  means,  the  loss  of 
chicks  from  lice  can  be  reduced  to  nothing  and  the  fowls 
will  be  stronger  and  healthier  than  when  their  blood  is 
pumped  out  by  parasites.  The  ordinary  nest  in  which 
chickens  are  hatched  under  hens  is  usually  so  foul  with 
parasites  that  chicks  have  small  chance  to  live. 

In  order  to  facilitate  cleanliness  in  the  poultry  house 
and  to  greatly  reduce  the  amount  of  filth,  dropping  boards 
should,  by  all  means,  be  used.  By  using  a  little  precau- 
tion in  placing  the  dropping  boards  so  as  not  to  obstruct 
the  light  the  entire  floor  space  beneath  can  be  utilized 
for  a  scratching  floor.  At  least  six  inches  should  be 
allowed  between  the  dropping  boards  and  the  roosts,  the 
distance  depending  entirely  upon  the  arrangement  of  the 
roosts.  If  the  platform  is  made  in  sections  it  can  be 
handled  much  more  easily,  as  it  is  frequently  found  de- 
sirable to  remove  them  in  cleaning.  Smooth  boards  are 
the  most  desirable  to  use. 

Poultry  is  subject  to  the  same  general  laws  of  health 
as  human  beings  are,  and  we  should  not  overlook  this 
fact  in  caring  for  them.  Pure  air,  pure  water  and  pure 
food,  as  well  as  thorough  cleanliness,  are  all  essential. 
The  fowl's  power  to  resist  disease  is  due  to  these. 


Useful  Hints  for  Everyday  Farm  Life 

Hens  are  helping  to  lift  a  good  many  mortgages  now- 
adays. 


The  lack  of  organic  matter  is  the  greatest  trouble  we 
have  in  the  vineyard", 


The  finer  the  soil  the  better  the  vegetables,  both  in 
quantity   and   quality. 

Dry  air,  good  feed  and  plenty  of  exercise  are  neces- 
sary for  winter  eggs. 


Work  the  surface  soil  over  after  each  rain,  and  thus 
retain  all  the  moisture. 


Fowls  need  plenty  of  fresh,  pure  water.     Thoroughly 
wash  their  dishes  every  day. 


As  a  rule,  hens  that  lay  steadily  during  cold  weather 
are  indifferent  hot  weather  layers. 


Winter  eggs  do  not  come  by  chance.    It  takes  planning 
and  work  to  get  them,  but  it  pays. 


Make  a  hot  bed  and  have  some  early  plants  ready  to 
set  out  when  the  weather  is  warm  enough. 

If  you  think  of  setting  out  an  orchard  and  have  had  no 
experience,  hire  a  good  man  to  show  you  how. 

275 


276  USEFUL  HINTS 

Vegetables  delight  in  having  warm,  deep,  rich  and  mel- 
low soil  and  will  pay  generously  for  the  privilege. 

Saltpeter  water — one  ounce  of  saltpeter  to  a  gallon  of 
water — is  a  good  spray  for  rust  on  bean  vines  and  bushes. 


Some  day  we  are  going  to  find  that  as  good  a  way  as 
any  to  use  the  surplus  sour  milk  is  to  give  it  to  the  hens. 


Three  rules  for  success  in  gardening  are:  Freedom 
from  weeds,  thinning  out,  and  keeping  the  ground  mel- 
low. 


Do  not  forget  that  the  fowls  need  green  food.  If  a 
change  of  yards  is  not  possible  see  that  some  is  fed  them 
daily. 


A  few  bad  eggs  in  a  case  is  sufficient  to  give  the  whole 
lot  a  bad  name.  Be  careful  that  every  egg  is  strictly 
fresh. 


Poultry  raising  offers  to  women  an  excellent  means  of 
making  money  because  the  work  is  not  too  taxing  for  their 
strength. 


Don't  crowd  the  chicks.  Give  them  room  to  exercise 
and  grow  in.  See  that  they  are  kept  comfortable  and 
well  fed. 


Much  can  be  done  to  prolong  the  life  of  trees.  Fill 
up  the  decayed  places  with  cement  after  scraping  out  all 
the  decay. 


The  ground  should  never  be  allowed  to  become  baked, 
as  in  this  condition  a  great  deal  of  moisture  is  lost  un- 
necessarily. 


USEFUL  HINTS  277 

Are  there  any  old  apple  trees  in  your  orchard  bearing 
undesirable  fruit?  It  is  easy  to  graft  good  varieties 
upon  them. 


Give  the  hens  plenty  of  lime  and  charcoal.  A  dishful 
kept  where  they  can  help  themselves  is  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  houses. 


Money  can  be  made  from  small  fruits.  The  area  is  de- 
creasing year  by  year,  and  this  means  the  prices  will  keep 
getting  better. 


Cultivation  is  a  moisture  conservator,  but  if  the  ground 
is  dry,  don't  run  the  cultivator  teeth  deep.  Keep  the  top 
soil  stirred  only. 


Keep  an  egg  record  and  do  not  fail  to  make  entries 
daily.  The  successful  poultryman  must  be  business-like 
in  every  respect. 


The  poultryman  who  fails  to  keep  an  accurate  account 
of  his  transactions  is  traveling  over  the  road  of  uncer- 
tainty that  leads  to  failure. 


It  is  poor  economy  to  feed  spoiled  food  to  the  poultry. 
They  may  contract  disease  or  become  poisoned.  Burn  all 
decomposed  food  stuff  at  once. 


The  old  family  orchards  are  rapidly  disappearing,  so 
that  in  the  future  commercial  orchardists  will  supply  the 
rural  as  well  as  the  city  population. 


Truck  crops  suffer  least  from  fungi  in  seasons  that 
open  with  a  cool  spring  and  end  with  a  very  hot  summer, 
with  a  rainfall  below  the  average. 


2/8  USEFUL  HINTS 

No  more  simple  or  efficient  method  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  egg  supply  of  the  country  could  be  adopted 
than  the  production  of  infertile  eggs. 


We  prune  grapevines  to  produce  larger  and  better 
fruit,  maintain  vigor,  to  keep  vines  within  limits,  and  to 
cause  ease  of  cultivation  and  spraying. 


It  is  useless  to  try  to  grow  vegetables  upon  ground  that 
is  poorly  drained.  For  this  reason  a  clay  loam  with  a 
goodly  portion  of  sand  is  to  be  desired. 


It  pays  better  to  milk  a  four-gallon  cow  and  sell  her 
when  dry  for  two  cents  a  pound  than  to  milk  a  two-gallon 
cow  and  sell  her  for  four  cents  a  pound. 


It  would  not  be  easy  to  find  a  fruit  that  can  be  more 
rapidly  improved  by  careful  selection,  or  run  out  more 
rapidly  by  careless  handling  than  the  tomato. 


Whey  is  a  by-product  of  cheese,  and  possesses  more 
or  less  feeding  value  when  fed  to  swine  in  a  judicious 
manner.     Most  feeders  prefer  to  feed  it  sweet. 


Ducks  are  great  feeders  and  they  are  also  great  grow- 
ers, so  where  does  the  loss  come  in?  A  few  ducks  will 
help  keep  the  income  up  to  the  required  standard. 


The  farmer  not  prepared  with  woven  wire  fencing, 
with  ample  alfalfa  or  clover  pastures,  is  not  properly 
prepared  for  the  economical  production  of  pork. 


The  fact  that  eggs  are  cheap  at  any  season  of  the 
year  does  not  lessen  their  value  for  the  family  table. 
Even  when  the  price  is  high  they  are  cheaper  than  meat. 


USEFUL  HINTS  279 

When  you  have  found  for  a  certainty  that  a  hen  is  un- 
profitable dispose  of  her  at  once.  Some  hens  are  never 
good  layers  but  they  eat  as  much  as  the  best  of  the  flock. 

Some  farmers  demand  upon  the  table — at  least  once  a 
week — a  good  old  onion  stew — to  keep  them  healthy. 
The  chickens  will  be  all  the  better  for  just  the  same  every 
week. 


Keep  the  poultry  out  of  the  barn.  As  well  turn  a  pig 
into  the  parlor.  Many  men  allow  fowls  to  find  their  own 
quarters,  and  then  they  wonder  why  they  are  not  a  good 
investment. 


The  best  work  that  can  be  done  for  fowls  in  winter  is 
to  lay  in  a  good  supply  of  litter  and  dry  dirt  under  shel- 
ter. It  is  scratching  in  the  winter  that  keeps  them  in 
best  laying  condition. 

Don't  confine  ducks  to  one  kind  of  feed.  They  like  a 
variety.  Cornbread  is  good  for  young  ducks,  but  it  is 
fattening,  and  the  wisest  thing  is  to  mix  it  with  oatmeal, 
bread  crumbs  or  potatoes. 

Perhaps  you  have  heard  an  undue  commotion  among 
the  hens  at  roosting  time.  They  were  scrapping  for  the 
higher  places,  so  build  them  on  a  level,  and  never  have 
one  placed  over  the  other. 

If  you  have  not  found  pork  production  profitable,  buy 
some  woven  wire  fencing  and  make  a  hog  pasture  in  your 
alfalfa  field  where  there  will  be  shade  and  water,  and  no 
longer  say  it  don't  pay  to  keep  hogs. 

The  hens  need  plenty  of  shade.  Keeping  them  exposed 
to  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  is  little  short  of  cruelty. 


280  USEFUL  HINTS 

A  shelter  can  easily  be  rigged  from  old  burlap  or  a  few 
armfuls  of  fir  boughs,  if  there  is  no  natural  shade. 


It  often  is  your  fault  that  hens  get  to  eating  eggs ;  but 
after  they  do  contract  the  habit,  lay  the  axe  at  the  root 
of  the  tree — in  other  words,  stop  the  business,  short  off. 
Then  change  your  bill  of  fare.  Something  is  lacking  in 
the  feed. 


Vaccine  is  effective  in  guarding  against  hog  cholera. 
The  common  vaccine  is  blood  serum  from  the  body  of  an 
immune  hog.  The  double  vaccine  treatment  is  the  use  of 
virulent  blood  serum  from  the  body  of  a  hog  in  the  last 
stages  of  cholera. 


It  may  be  possible  to  have  poultry  live  without  any 
animal  matter,  but  for  profit  and  thrift  it  is  necessary 
that  they  receive  a  certain  per  cent  of  meat  in  the  daily 
bill  of  fare,  especially  when  they  are  confined  to  runs,  or 
to  houses  in  winter. 


One  reason  why  women  usually  succeed  with  poul- 
try is  because  they  are  considerate  of  the  wants  of  the 
fowls.  Women  have  more  patience  naturally  than 
men,  and  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  patience  to  make 
a  success  of  poultry  raising. 

If  farmers  and  others  engaged  in  the  production  of 
eggs  would  market  their  male  birds  as  soon  as  the  hatch- 
ing season  is  over,  a  large  saving  would  be  made,  as  prac- 
tically every  infertile  egg  would  grade  a\irst  or  second 
if  clean  and  promptly  marketed. 


The  fact  that  dairymen  have  devoted  more  attention 
to  other  phases  of  their  dairying  than  to  the  breeding  and 
development  of  the  cow  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  so  many 


USEFUL  HINTS  281 

of  our  dairy  herds  are  not  capable  of  returning  a  profit 
from  their  food  and  cost  of  care. 

The  average  hen  outlives  her  usefulness  in  two  years 
and  is  more  profitable  sent  to  market.  There  are  at  times 
good  hens  in  the  third  and  even  fourth  year,  but  the 
average  limit  is  two.  Old  hens  are  more  likely  to  con- 
tract diseases  than  the  younger  ones. 

More  chicks  are  killed  every  year  by  coarse  food  than 
in  any  other  way.  Their  bowels  are  tender,  so  give  food 
that  will  be  easy  to  digest.  Well-dried  and  crushed  bread 
crumbs,  lightly  moistened,  are  as  good  as  anything.  Mix 
in  a  bit  of  fine-cut  lettuce  or  onion. 


Pick  grapes,  if  possible,  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  for 
then  the  stems  are  less  brittle  and  fewer  berries  will  split 
and  be  torn  from  the  branches.  Never  pick  them  after  a 
rain  and  before  the  bunches  have  dried  out,  if  you  can 
avoid  it,  for  that  tends  to  cause  the  fruit  to  mold  badly. 

Ten  grains  of  nitrate  of  potash  in  a  little  milk  (warm), 
three  times  each  day  will  greatly  assist  in  overcoming 
rheumatism  in  hogs.  This  dose  is  for  the  grown  hog. 
If  given  to  pigs  or  growing  shoats,  about  three  grains 
for  each  hundred  pounds  of  live-weight  will  be  sufficient. 

A  large  part  of  the  heavy  loss  from  bad  eggs  can  be 
obviated  by  the  production  of  infertile  eggs.  This  has 
been  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  investigations 
concerning  tlL  improvement  of  the  farm  tgg  which  dur- 
ing the  past  two  years  have  been  conducted  in  the  Middle 
West. 


It  is  an  invariable  rule  that  animals  receiving  proper 
care  are  much  better  able  to  resist  disease  than  are  those 


282  USEFUL  HINTS 

which  are  poorly  housed  and  improperly  fed.  Cleanli- 
ness is  of  first  importance  with  all  live  stock.  Next  are 
clean  water,  a  variety  of  wholesome  food  and  com- 
fortable beds. 


Eggs  contain  all  the  elements  necessary  to  supply  the 
human  body  with  nourishing  food.  This  is  not  true  of 
any  other  article  of  food.  One-half  of  an  egg  is  nutri- 
ment, while  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  meat  is  so;  thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  one  pound  of  eggs  is  equal,  in  food 
value,  to  two  pounds  of  meat. 


Ireland  is  the  greatest  poultry  growing  country  in  the 
world.  It  is  far  ahead  of  France,  though  we  have  always 
adopted  the  latter  as  the  leading  country  in  this  industry. 
Ireland,  with  a  population  of  not  quite  5,000,000,  has 
14,000,000  fowls,  while  France  with  a  population  of  seven 
times  greater  has  only  40,000,000. 


When  pigs  are  once  afflicted  with  "bull  nose"  there  is 
no  cure.  The  disease  may  be  arrested  by  smoking  with 
camphor-gum.  This  is  done  by  confining  the  animals 
in  a  tightly  covered  box,  and  placing  a  little  camphor- 
gum  on  a  red-hot  stove-lid.  They  will  inhale  the  fumes. 
The  trouble  is,  no  doubt,  infectious. 


There  is  an  insistent  market  demand  for  high-class 
horses,  especially  for  draft  horses,  that  cannot  be  sup- 
plied. On  the  other  hand,  the  country  is  flooded  with 
common  ordinary  "plug"  horses.  They  do  not  fill  any 
particular  requirement  or  demand,  hence  the  very  low  and 
profit-killing  prices  for  which  they  must  sell. 

Northern  Minnesota  is  fast  becoming  a  dairy  section 
and  the  raising  of  hogs  is  receiving  increased  attention. 
Conditions  that  are  favorable  to  the  dairy  industry  are 


USEFUL  HINTS  283 

favorable  to  hog  raising.  Clover  that  produces  milk  so 
abundantly  produces  meat  equally  well  and  the  dairy 
farmer  can  produce  no  meat  so  profitably  as  pork. 


Hiccoughing  in  pigs  is  caused  by  a  derangement  of  the 
stomach.  One  of  the  best  ways  to  correct  the  trouble 
is  to  change  the  sow's  ration,  feeding  less  corn  and  more 
of  such  feed  as  ground  oats  and  bran.  If  the  trouble  does 
not  cease,  give  each  pig  eight  drops  of  tincture  of 
asafoetida  twice  a  day  till  the  hiccoughing  ceases. 

For  colic  in  horses :  Chloroform,  one  ounce ;  laudanum, 
eight  ounces;  sulphuric  ether,  two  ounces;  Jamaica 
ginger,  eight  ounces;  raw  linseed-oil,  two  pounds.  Mix 
well  and  divide  into  ten  doses  and  give  one  each  hour 
until  relief  comes.  This  remedy  is  used  at  the  fire  sta- 
tions in  a  number  of  the  cities,  and  has  rarely  been  known 
to  fail. 


A  successful  sheep  grower  writes :  "I  have  found  that 
the  great  trouble  with  most  sheep-dips  is,  they  are  too 
strong,  and  cause  irritation  of  the  flesh.  For  each  10 
sheep  I  use  only  one-fourth  pound  of  plug-tobacco.  This 
I  boil  in  about  30  gallons  of  water,  and  dip  the  sheep 
therein  as  soon  as  cool.  I  make  an  application  once  each 
week  until  the  trouble  is  overcome." 


As  a  stock  food  we  have  found  buttermilk  better 
adapted  for  pigs  than  for  any  other  animals;  but  would 
not  advise  feeding  it  to  very  young  pigs.  As  a  feed  for 
swine  our  experience  has  led  us  to  believe  that  it  has 
about  the  same  feeding  value  as  skim-milk  We  would, 
however,  prefer  skim-milk  on  account  of  its  being  less 
liable  to  derange  the  animal's  digestive  system. 

The  following  is  an  excellent  remedy  for  a  cough  that 
follows   distemper    in    horses:     Granulated   sugar,   one 


284  USEFUL  HINTS 

pound,  in  which  mix  powdered  chlorate  of  potash,  eight 
ounces,  and  powdered  lobelia,  two  ounces.  Mix  well  to- 
gether, place  a  teaspoonful  in  the  feed-box  before  feed- 
ing, and  place  the  grain-feed  on  top  of  it,  or,  if  you  are 
feeding  meal  mixed  with  the  hay,  mix  it  with  the  ration. 


For  the  first  twenty-four  hours  to  thirty-six  hours  after 
they  leave  the  shell  little  chicks  want  warmth  sufficient 
for  comfort,  fresh  air  to  breathe  and  a  chance  to  sleep 
without  being  disturbed.  When  they  are  sufficiently 
rested  and  thoroughly  dried  out  and  fluffy,  stand  strong 
on  their  legs  and  begin  to  persistently  make  the  "hungry 
cry,"  they  are  ready  to  go  to  brood  coop  or  brooder  for 
their  first  feed. 


It  will  surprise  most  dairymen  to  learn  that  carefully 
kept  cows  are  given  four  ounces  of  salt  each,  daily,  mixed 
with  their  feed.  They  eat  their  food  better,  and  the 
owner  thinks  they  do  better  when  given  this  amount  than 
when  the  allowance  is  smaller.  The  cows  are  fed  three 
times  a  day,  and  the  salt  is  divided  between  the  three 
feeds.  Fine  table  salt  is  invariably  used ;  the  cows  prefer 
it  to  coarse  salt. 


A  hog  coming  down  with  cholera  is  sluggish  and  re- 
fuses food.  The  eyes  are  inflamed  and  the  hair  be- 
comes rough.  A  cough  and  weakness  are  other  symp- 
toms. An  inexperienced  owner  needs  the  help  of  an  ex- 
pert in  such  cases.  Veterinarians  usually  know  how  to 
procure  and  use  the  serum,  and  it  is  best  to  employ 
them  if  they  can  be  reached.  Nearly  all  states  have  pub- 
lic veterinarians 


The  guinea  fowl  is  a  native  of  warm  countries  and 
has  a  natural  fear  of  snow,  so  when  guineas  are  caught 


USEFUL  HINTS  285 

out  in  a  storm  there  is  a  good  chance  for  trouble  if  we 
undertake  to  force  them  to  walk  through  snow  to  the 
poultry  house.  The  guineas  will  take  to  flight  rather  than 
wade  in  snow  and  rather  than  light  on  the  ground  when 
covered  with  snow  they  will  alight  in  trees,  or  if  there 
are  no  trees  they  will  light  on  the  tops  of  buildings. 


Many  times  a  severe  cough  in  a  horse  can  be  cor- 
rected by  the  use  of  the  following  remedy:  Nitrate  of 
potash,  three  drachms ;  tartarized  antimony,  one  drachm ; 
powdered  digitalis,  three- fourths  drachm;  camphor,  three 
drachms.  Mix  well,  divide  into  two  equal  parts,  and 
make  each  into  a  ball  with  a  little  raw  linseed-oil.  Give 
one  dose  in  the  morning  and  the  other  in  the  evening. 
Continue  each  alternate  day  until  relief  is  noticed. 


To  rid  swine  of  worms,  give  one  dose  made  up  of  4 
tablespoonfuls  of  oil  of  turpentine,  one-half  teaspoonful 
of  liquor  of  erri  dialysatus  and  6  ounces  of  raw  linseed 
oil.  This  is  suitable  for  an  animal  weighing  100  to  150 
pounds ;  for  larger  or  smaller  stock  change  the  dose.  Re- 
peat in  four  days  if  necessary.  Kidney  worms  are  not 
directly  reached  by  any  known  remedy,  but  the  treat- 
ment and  management  outlined  above  will  have  a  good 
effect. 


One  of  the  best  methods  to  take  care  of  the  steel  plow 
is  to  grease  the  mold  board,  share  and  land  slide  just  as 
soon  as  the  plowing  is  done.  Leaving  a  highly  polished 
surface  exposed  to  the  weather  for  one  night  starts  a  rust. 
Paint  must  be  scraped  off  with  some  sharp  instrument, 
while  grease  can  be  wiped  off  with  a  cloth,  or  not  infre- 
quently the  farmer  can  hitch  to  the  plow  without  touch- 
ing the  share,  the  dirt  pushing  off  the  grease.  Paint  is 
a  good  preservative  of  wood,  but  should  not  be  applied 
to  metal  which  has  wearing  or  bearing  surfaces. 


286  USEFUL  HINTS 

People  ought  to  know  that  the  very  best  thing  they  can 
do  is  to  eat  apples  just  before  retiring  for  the  night.  Per- 
sons uninitiated  in  the  mysteries  of  the  fruit  are  liable  to 
throw  up  their  hands  in  horror  at  the  visions  of  dys- 
pepsia which  such  a  suggestion  may  summon  up,  but 
harm  can  seldom  come  by  the  slow  eating  of  ripe  and 
juicy  apples  before  going  to  bed.  The  apple  is  excel- 
lent brain  food  because  it  has  more  phosphoric  acid  in 
easily  digested  shape  than  any  other  fruit. 


The  first  step  in  determining  the  freshness  of  an  egg 
is  to  know  that  the  hen  that  laid  it  was  not  mated  while 
the  egg  was  in  the  oviduct ;  to  be  sure  about  this,  separate 
from  laying  hens  all  male  birds  at  the  close  of  breeding 
season.  Each  egg  should  be  candled.  In  candling,  a 
fresh  egg  appears  unclouded,  almost  translucent;  if  in- 
cubation has  begun,  a  dark  spot  is  visible.  A  rotten  egg 
appears  dark  colored.  A  settled  egg  is  one  in  which  the 
yoke  appears  attached  to  one  side  of  the  shell.  With  in- 
terested observation  one  may  become  expert  in  selecting 
fresh  eggs  in  a  short  time. 


Wean  pigs  when  eight  to  ten  weeks  old.  After  wean- 
ing, feed  the  following  ration :  Soaked  corn,  two  parts  ; 
barley,  two  parts;  middlings,  two  parts;  meat  meal,  one- 
half  part,  and  roots  in  liberal  quantities.  When  the 
weather  becomes  cold  feed  dry  corn  and  barley.  Make 
a  thick  slop  of  middlings,  meat  meal  and  water,  but  use 
milk  instead  of  water  if  you  have  it.  The  farmers  of 
the  United  States  have  not  yet  appreciated  the  value 
of  roots,  such  as  mangels  and  sugar  beets.  Next  year 
try  an  acre;  you  will  grow  more  afterwards.  For  pigs 
they  should  be  cut  up  with  a  pulper.  The  chief  value 
of  roots  lies  in  their  succulence.  They  are  a  substitute 
for  grass. 


USEFUL  HINTS  287 

To  develop  a  laying  strain  of  hens  a  fancier  says  that 
owners  must  not  keep  fowls  in  large  flocks;  not  over 
fifteen  to  the  flock,  and  each  of  these  must  be  known 
individually  by  toe  marks,  leg  bands  and  trap  nests.  He 
says  that  the  hen  which  often  gets  broody  is  most  often 
the  hen  that  lays  most  eggs,  if  you  break  her  up  im- 
mediately she  gets  broody.  The  laying  hen  carries  a 
business  air  that  soon  shows  her  worth.  The  laying 
strain  must  be  pure-bred ;  the  male  of  this  strain  and  for 
this  strain  must  have  comb  well  developed  and  large  for 
his  breed,  and  be  an  early  and  persistent  crower,  both 
showing  extra  good  development. 


Speaking  of  lumpy  jaws  in  cattle,  G.  G.  Graham  says: 
"The  most  satisfactory  way  is  to  remove  the  growth 
with  the  knife  when  in  the  tissues  only.  The  animal  is 
thrown;  the  head  then  held  in  a  favorable  position,  the 
skin  is  cut  over  the  tumor,  and  the  swelling  removed 
by  cutting  around  it  in  the  healthy  tissues."  If 
hemorrhage  is  large  the  vessel  may  be  tied  or  taken  up 
with  the  forceps ;  bleeding  from  smaller  vessels  may  be 
seared  with  a  red-hot  iron.  The  wound  should  be  washed 
with  an  antiseptic  in  I  per  cent  solution  after  the  tumor 
is  removed,  and  then  packed  with  antiseptic  gauze  or 
cotton,  and  the  wound  stitched  up.  The  next  day  remove 
the  stitches,  and  treat  as  an  open  wound. 


When  the  goose  becomes  broody,  if  I  wish  her  to  lay 
another  litter  I  shut  her  up  a  few  days,  and  in  the 
course  of  two  weeks  she  will  generally  commence  laying 
again.  If  I  wish  to  set  her  on  the  first  litter  I  give  her 
not  more  than  15  eggs.  At  the  same  time  I  replenish 
the  nest  with  straw,  and  then  keep  away.  If  she  has  free 
range  and  plenty  of  water,  she  will  need  no  other  care. 
In  about  30  days  she  will  come  off  with  the  goslings. 
These  I  keep  close  at  hand  for  a  few  days,  until  they  get 


288  USEFUL  HINTS 

strong,  but  allow  them  to  nip  the  tender  grass  at  will.  A 
shallow  dish  of  water  is  given  them  to  drink  from.  They 
are  kept  out  of  rains  until  they  are  well  feathered.  I 
feed  a  little  cracked  corn  at  night  to  coax  them  home. 

The  amateur  farmer  does  not  need  expert  advice  to  en- 
able him  to  keep  his  hogs  in  clean  yards  and  buildings. 
Without  much  scientific  knowledge  he  can  see  the  wisdom 
of  allowing  them  to  range  in  grass  or  clover.  They  need 
a  change  of  pasture  and  grounds  now  and  again.  It  takes 
only  a  little  systematic  effort  to  provide  clean  troughs 
and  fresh  water.  A  shed  is  needed  for  shade  in  summer 
unless  there  are  trees,  and  winter  pens  and  yards  should 
be  kept  in  a  sanitary  condition.  All  these  things  count 
largely  in  warding  off  disease  and  in  making  a  good 
quality  of  pork.  The  charcoal  and  wood  ashes  which  are 
valuable  aids  to  the  health  of  swine,  will  help  to  a  great 
extent  in  warding  off  cholera.  Corn  given  in  a  green 
stage  is  one  of  the  causes  of  cholera  and  this  kind  of 
feeding  should  be  avoided. 


Sheep  are  easier  to  winter  than  any  other  stock.  That 
is,  of  course,  providing  they  have  sufficient  shelter  and 
plenty  of  fresh  water.  The  barn  in  which  I  keep  my 
sheep  is  completely  inclosed,  and  as  warm  and  tight  as 
any  of  the  buildings  for  the  rest  of  the  stock.  It  has 
plenty  of  windows,  and  openings  in  the  windows  for 
ventilation.  I  feed  timothy  or  upland  hay  at  night,  and 
straw  liberally  during  the  day,  with  a  little  ground  oats 
and  shorts,  mixed,  in  the  morning.  My  feed  racks  are 
built  a  foot  from  the  floor.  They  are  a  foot  wide  at  the 
bottom,  23/2  feet  high  and  2  feet  wide  at  the  top.  The 
sides  are  made  of  boards  8  inches  wide  and  6  inches  apart 
up  and  down.  Besides  a  system  of  window  ventilation, 
I  have  ventilators  in  the  roof,  so  that  I  am  sure  at  all 
times  of  the  sheep  having  plenty  of  fresh  air. 


USEFUL  HINTS  289 

At  the  Missouri  Station  bone  meal  was  fed  with  corn 
to  hogs  in  a  fattening  test  with  very  good  results.  About 
an  ounce  of  the  meal  was  fed  to  each  hog  per  day.  At 
the  Nebraska  Station  four  lots  of  pigs  were  fed  to  de- 
termine the  value  of  wheat  shorts,  tankage  and  steamed 
ground  bone,  as  supplements  to  corn  meal.  These  hogs 
were  pastured  on  alfalfa,  and  for  this  reason  the  lot  fed 
on  corn  alone  made  about  as  satisfactory  gain  as  any, 
although  the  lot  which  was  fed  bone  meal  in  addition  to 
the  corn  had  the  strongest  bone.  Shorts  strengthened  the 
bones  some,  and  tankage  with  corn  produced  much 
stronger  bone  than  corn  alone.  Where  mixed  grain  ra- 
tions are  given,  or  skim  milk  or  good  pasture,  all  of 
which  supply  ash  material,  it  is  doubtful  whether  bone 
meal  is  of  much  value  other  than  for  the  purpose  of 
strengthening  the  bones. 

Measles  are  common  with  small  pigs.  Since  it  is  a 
contagion,  it  spreads  very  rapidly  when  once  there  is 
an  outbreak  in  the  herd.  Some  of  its  more  common 
symptoms  are  coughing  and  sneezing.  The  eyes  are  red 
and  watery,  and  there  is  generally  a  discharge  from 
the  nose.  The  appetite  is  generally  impaired,  and  there 
is  a  desire  to  remain  in  the  nest  or  bed.  On  the  fourth  or 
fifth  day  a  red  rash  appears  on  the  skin,  first  in  small 
pimples  and  later  in  large  spots,  which  rise  above  the  sur- 
rounding surface  of  the  skin.  The  elevations  are  the 
same  on  infected  pigs  whose  skins  are  white  as  on  the 
dark-skinned  animals.  The  pig  should  have  a  dry  bed  in 
which  to  sleep.  Perhaps  the  most  simple  remedy  is  a 
half  pint  of  boiled  flaxseed  with  the  soft  feed,  once  each 
day.  Ten  grains  of  nitrate  of  potash  in  the  drinking 
water  is  also  good. 

Many  experts  claim  that  the  open-front  house  will  give 
the  best  results  in  ventilation,  although  it  seems  hard  to 


290  USEFUL  HINTS 

convince  the  average  poultry  owner  of  this  fact,  in  spite 
of  the  proof  in  the  operation  of  the  same  by  some  of  the 
largest  commercial  plants  in  the  country.  With  the  north, 
east  and  west  side  bottle-tight,  the  south  side  open  from 
two  to  three  feet  from  the  door,  so  that  no  drafts  will  hit 
the  fowls  and  with  muslin  curtains  to  lower  on  stormy 
days,  there  is  no  need  of  ventilators.  This  type  of  ventila- 
tion is  fast  coming  to  the  front  as  the  most  practical.  A 
house  sixteen  feet  wide  and  eight  feet  high  in  the  front, 
which  faces  the  south,  or  as  near  south  as  possible,  and 
five  feet  high  in  the  rear,  allowing  the  sun  to  reach  the 
back  sill  of  the  sixteen-foot  floor  some  time  during  the 
day,  offers  ideal  conditions.  With  such  a  house,  properly 
managed,  there  will  be  no  colds  or  roup  to  cause  failure. 


Special  thermometers  fixed  in  the  ground  a  few  inches 
deep  show  that  an  orchard  cover  crop  keeps  the  soil 
several  degrees  warmer  than  a  bare  soil  close  by,  in  an 
experiment  now  going  on  at  Indiana  Agricultural  Col- 
lege. It  is  also  being  found  that  there  is  more  moisture 
under  the  crop  than  there  is  where  no  crop  has  grown. 
Rye,  millet,  wheat,  rape,  crimson  clover,  soy  beans,  cow- 
peas  and  vetch  have  been  planted  over  different  orchard 
acres  to  see  which  gives  best  results  for  the  cost  of  plant- 
ing, which,  if  any,  is  most  practical.  So  far  vetch  has 
given  excellent  results  but  the  seed  is  pretty  expensive. 
Cowpeas  will  not  grow  unless  they  are  put  in  early,  in 
an  average  year.  Rape  grows  well  after  frost,  and  seems 
to  be  a  good  practicable  crop.  Millet,  because  it  is  inex- 
pensive to  put  in,  is  considered  one  of  the  most  practica- 
ble. Chickens,  calves  and  pigs  may  be  pastured  safely  in 
the  orchard,  but  other  stock  are  liable  to  injure  the  trees. 


Dates  for  Planting  Vegetables 

Asparagus.  Plant  between  20th  of  March  and  15th  of 
April,  according  to  locality  and  season.  Plant  in  trenches 
with  rich  soil,  placing  roots  three  feet  apart. 

Beans,  Lima.  Plant  April  10th  to  25th.  Plant  2  inches 
deep,  6  inches  apart,  in  rows  2  feet  apart.  This  is  for  bush 
beans.  For  pole  crop  set  poles  4  feet  apart  and  plant  5 
beans  to  each  pole.    Pinch  off  when  vines  reach  top  of  poles. 

Beans,  String.  Plant  1st  to  15th  of  April,  in  rows  2  inches 
deep,  about  4  inches  apart  in  row.  Plant  frequently  a  few 
at  a  time  to  extend  crop  over  the  season. 

Beets.  Plant  April  1st  to  15th,  placing  seed  thinly  in  drill 
1  inch  deep.     Thin  out  as  needed. 

Cabbage.  Set  plants  May  1st  to  15th.  Can  buy  plants 
as  needed  or  start  seed  indoors  a  month  earlier. 

Cauliflower.  Plant  early  in  May.  Buy  plants  or  start 
seed  indoors. 

Carrots.  Plant  April  1st,  thinly,  y2  inch  deep  in  rows. 
Thin  out  as  needed  by  pulling  largest. 

Celery.  Plant  seed  in  hot-bed  during  early  spring;  trans- 
plant when  season  is  well  advanced.  Plants  can  be  set  out 
in  July  or  August  for  fall  and  winter  use. 

Corn.  Early  and  late  varieties  can  be  planted  beginning 
about  the  middle  of  April,  the  later  kind  up  to  the  middle 
of  July. 

Cucumbers.  Plant  April  20th  to  May  1st,  in  hills  4  feet 
apart,  a  number  of  seeds  in  each  hill. 

Eggplant.  Plant  any  time  in  May,  according  to  weather, 
plants  2  feet  apart. 

291 


292  DATES  FOR  PLANTING  VEGETABLES 

Lettuce.  Plant  early  varieties  about  April  1st,  and  late 
about  July  1st  to  August  1st,  and  pick  as  required  for  table 
or  market. 

Melons.  May  1st  to  15th.  Plant  in  hills  4  feet  apart  each 
way,  12  seeds  to  hill.  Thin  to  2  vines  to  hill.  To  check 
striped  beetle  cover  each  hill  with  box  cheesecloth  top,  or 
plant  radishes  with  melon  seeds.  To  guard  against  insects 
spray  with  arsenate  of  lead  every  two  weeks.  Pinch  vines 
back  when  3  feet  long. 

Onions.  About  April  1st.  Plant  sets  2  inches  deep  in 
rows  2  feet  apart. 

Parsley.  April  10th  to  20th.  Soak  seeds,  cover  lightly 
with  soil. 

Parsnips.    April  1st  to  15th.     Scatter  seeds  thinly  in  rows. 

Peas.  Early  varieties  about  April  1st.  Scatter  manure 
in  trench,  sow  peas  directly  on  this  and  cover  3  inches  deep. 
Plant  late  crop  June  15th  to  July  1st. 

Pumpkin.     Plant  May  15th  in  hills  6  feet  apart. 

Radishes.  April  1st  and  every  2  weeks,  planting  seed  y2 
inch  deep. 

Spinach.  Plant  about  April  1st,  1  inch  deep,  rows  VA 
feet  apart. 

Squash.  Plant  early  in  May  in  hills  4  feet  apart,  12  seeds 
to  hill. 

Tomatoes.  Plant  early  in  May,  setting  plants  3  feet  apart. 
Pinch  back  to  1  stalk;  tie  to  stake  or  trellis. 

Turnips.    April  1st  to  15th.     Plant  seed  T/2  inch  deep. 


Insecticides  and  Fungicides 

Approximate  Cost  Is  Given 

Ant  Exterminator.     A  powder.     25  cts.,  50  cts.  and  $1.00. 

Aphine.  The  insecticide  that  kills  plant  lice  of  every  de- 
scription; a  strong  nicotine  extract.    1  qt.,  $1.00;  1  gal.,  $2.50. 

Aphis  Punk.  A  nicotine  paper.  For  fumigating.  Box, 
60  cts.;  12  boxes,  $6.50. 

Arsenate  of  Lead.  For  elm-leaf  beetle  and  caterpillars. 
1  lb.,  25  cts.;  5  lbs.,  90  cts.;  10  lbs.,  $1.65;  25  lbs.,  $3.75;  100 
lbs.,  $14.00.     1  oz.  to  1  gallon  of  water. 

Bordeaux — Arsenate  of  Lead  Mixture.  A  combined 
fungicide  and  insecticide.  For  plants,  trees  and  shrubbery. 
Three  ozs.  to  1  gal.  of  water.  Apply  as  a  spray.  1  lb.,  15 
cts.;  2  lbs.,  26  cts.;  5  lbs.,  60  cts.;  10  lbs.,  $1.15;  20  lbs.,  $2.15; 
50  lbs.,  $5.12;  1000  lbs.,  $10.00. 

Bordeaux  Mixture  Paste.  The  supreme  remedy  against 
fungus,  rust  and  all  kinds  of  rot.  Five  ozs.  to  1  gal.  of  water 
is  standard  strength.  1  lb.,  11  cts.;  2  lbs.,  18  cts.;  5  lbs.,  40 
cts.;  10  lbs.,  75  cts.;  20  lbs.,  $1.35;  50  lbs.,  $3.12. 

Bordeaux  Mixture  (Liquid).  By  simply  adding  water  and 
stirring  it  is  ready  for  use.  1  qt.,  40  cts.;  1  gal.,  $1.00;  5  gals., 
$4.50.     One  gallon  will  make  one  barrel  of  liquid. 

Bordeaux  Mixture  (Dry).  For  dusting  plants  affected 
with  mildew  and  all  fungous  diseases.  1-lb.  box,  20  cts.; 
makes  5  gallons  spray;  5-lb.  box,  90  cts. 

Copper  Sulphate.  For  early  spraying  and  making  Bor- 
deaux.    Lb.,  15  cts.;   10  lbs.,  $1.25;  25  cts.,  $2.25. 

Kerosene  Emulsion  (Concentrated,  Liquid).  For  plant 
lice  and  aphis.     1  qt.,  40  cts.;   1  gal,  $1.00;  5  gals.,  $4.50. 

Kerosene  Emulsion  (Paste).  Used  as  a  summer  wash 
against  scale,  plant  lice  and  aphis.  Ready  for  use  by  simply 
adding  water.  1-lb.  can,  15  cts.;  5-lb.  can,  60  cts.;  25-lb.  can, 
$2.50. 

293 


294  INSECTICIDES  AND  FUNGICIDES 

Lemon  Oil.  For  all  insects  and  soft  scale;  one  of  the  best- 
known  Insecticides.  V2  pt.,  25  cts.;  pt.,  40  cts.;  qt,  75  cts.; 
y2  gal.,  $1.25;  gal.,  $2.00;  5  gals.,  $9.00. 

Lime  Sulphur  Solution.  A  perfect  scale  and  fungus 
destroyer;  special  for  plum  and  peach  trees,  which  need  fall 
and  spring  treatment;  cures  peach  leaf  curl.  Use  during  dor- 
mant period.  Protect  the  hands  with  gloves  when  applying. 
Dilute  with  10  parts  of  water.  1  gal.,  75  cts.;  5  gals.,  $2.25; 
10  gals.,  $3.75;  half-bbls.,  $6.00;  bbls.  of  50  gals.,  $10.00. 

Nicoticide.  Fumigating  compound.  1  pt.,  $2.50;  Vi  pt. 
$1.25;  4  ozs.,  70  cts.;  vaporizing  apparatus,  50  cts. 

Nikoteen.  An  economical  and  powerful  nicotine  extract. 
One  part  to  600  of  water  is  sufficiently  strong  to  kill  all  in- 
sects except  scale,  for  which  use  1  to  400.    Pt.  bottle,  $1.50. 

Pruning  Compound.  A  specially  prepared  thick  paint, 
with  a  rubbery,  elastic  film.  Just  the  thing  to  use  after 
pruning  trees.     1  qt.,  40  cts.;   1  gal.,  $1.20. 

Rat  Corn.  Sure  death  to  rats  and  mice.  A  new  scientific 
discovery;  not  poisonous  to  other  animals.  25  cts.,  50  cts. 
and  $1.00  size  cans. 

Scalecide.  Recommended  for  scale  as  a  winter  spray.  Di- 
lute 1  gal.  to  20  gals,  of  water.  1  gal.,  $1.00;  5  gals.,  $3.25; 
bbl.,  50  gals.,  $25.00. 

Slug  Shot.  One  of  the  cheapest  and  best  powders  for 
destroying  insects.  1-lb.  carton,  15  cts.;  5  lbs.,  30  cts.;  25 
lbs.,  $1.40;  50  lbs.,  $2.75;  100  lbs.,  $5.00. 

Soluble  Oil.  An  excellent  scale  remedy.  Specially  good 
for  lawn  trees  and  hedges,  as  it  will  not  stain.  Mixes  per- 
fectly with  water.  Use  during  dormant  period.  Dilute  with 
15  to  20  parts  of  water.  1  gal.,  $1.00;  5  gals.,  $3.65;  10  gals., 
$6.65;  half  bbl.,  60  cts.  per  gal.;  bbl.  of  50  gals.,  50  cts  per  gal. 

Sulphur,  Powdered.  For  mildew.  1  lb.,  10  cts.;  5  lbs.,  40 
cts.;  10  lbs.,  60  cts.;  50  lbs.,  $2.50;  100  lbs.,  $4.00. 

Tobacco  Dust.    1  lb.,  10  cts.;  5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  100  lbs.,  $3.50. 

Tobacco  Soap.  For  plants,  trees,  cattle  and  all  insect  in- 
fested animals.     V2  lb.,  25  cts.;  10  lbs.,  bulk,  $3.00. 

Tree  Tanglefoot.  (Caterpillar  Paste.)  A  remedy  against 
caterpillars  and  all  tree-climbing  insects.  1  lb.,  30  cts.;  3  lbs., 
85  cts.;  10  lbs.,  $2.65;  20  lbs,  $4.80. 


Fertilizers  for  Farm  and  Garden 

Approximate  Cost  Is  Given 

Animal  Base  and  Potash  Compound.  For  all  crops.  Su- 
perior for  broadcasting  in  spring  prior  to  harrowing.  2  per 
cent,  ammonia,  8  per  cent.  A  v.  Ph.  Acid,  2  per  cent,  potash. 
Per  sack,  200  lbs.,  $3.00;  per  ton,  $23.50. 

Bone  Flour.  Ground  fine;  excellent  for  pot  plants  or  beds 
where  an  immediate  effect  is  wanted.  5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  100 
lbs.,  $2.50;  bbl.  of  200  lbs.,  4.50;  ton,  $40.00. 

Pure  Bone  Meal.  A  standard  fertilizer  for  all  purposes, 
safe  and  effective.  3  lbs.,  15  cts.;  5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  25  lbs.,  75 
cts.;  50  lbs.,  $1.25;  100  lbs.,  $2.00;  200  lb.  sack,  $3.50;  per 
ton,  $33.00. 

Ground  Bone.  A  little  coarser  than  above;  excellent  for 
grass  plots,  gardens,  etc.  Apply  400  to  600  lbs.  to  the  acre. 
5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  25  lbs.,  75  cts.;  50  lbs.,  $1.25;  100  lbs.,  $2.00; 
sack  of  200  lbs.,  $3.50;  per  ton,  $33.00. 

Coarse  Bone.  Ground  coarse,  for  grape  borders  and 
poultry.  A  superior  fertilizer  to  use  when  planting  shrub- 
bery and  trees.  5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  50  lbs.,  $1.25;  100  lbs.,  $2.25; 
200-lb.  sack,  $4.00;  per  ton,  $35.00. 

Fine  Ground  Bone.  Contains  3  per  cent,  ammonia,  16  per 
cent,  phosphoric  acid.  100  lbs.,  $1.75;  200-lb.  sack,  $3.25;  per 
ton,  $30.00. 

Cattle  Manure,  Shredded.  For  garden,  lawn  and  green- 
house, and  especially  good  to  mix  with  compost  and  for 
water  lilies.  100  lbs.,  $2.00;  500  lbs.,  $9.00;  1,000  lbs.,  $16.00; 
per  ton,  $30.00. 

Hard-wood  Ashes.  Indispensable  as  a  lawn  dressing,  or 
to  apply  to  orchards.  Should  be  applied  late  in  fall  or 
early  spring  at  the  rate  of  1000  to  1500  lbs.  per  acre.  5  lbs., 
20  cts.;  10  lbs.,  35  cts.;  25  lbs.,  60  cts.;  100  lbs.,  $1.50;  per  bbl., 
$2.50;  per  ton,  $22.00. 

Kainit  (German  Potash  Salt.)  Analysis:  12  per  cent, 
actual  potash.  Excellent  to  apply  in  fall  or  winter  on  lawns 
or  vegetable  garden.  Apply  at  the  rate  of  1000  lbs.  per 
acre.     100  lbs.,  $1.25;  200  lbs.,  $2.00;  per  ton,  $15.00. 

295 


296        FERTILIZERS  FOR  FARM  AND  GARDEN 

Land  Plaster.  Much  used  in  composting  or  mixed  with 
guano,  etc.  100-lb.  bag,  $1.00;  200-lb.  bag,  $1.50:  per  ton, 
$10.00. 

Muriate  of  Potash.  80  per  cent,  pure,  equivalent  to  48  to 
50  per  cent,  actual  potash.  A  high  grade  fertilizer,  and  one 
of  the  best  orchard  fertilizers  known.  25  lbs.,  $1.00;  50 
lbs.,  $1.75;  100  lbs.,  $3.00.     Original  sacks  of  200  lbs.,  $5.50. 

Nitrate  of  Soda.  A  fertilizer  for  all  crops.  It  is  very- 
quick  in  action  and  hastens  maturity  of  crops  fully  two 
weeks.  Being  quickly  soluble,  it  should  not  be  applied  until 
the  plants  are  above  ground,  when  200  to  300  lbs.  mixed 
with  land  plaster  is  sufficient  per  acre.  Nitrate  of  Soda  does 
not  exhaust  the  land.  5  lbs.,  25  cts.;  25  lbs.,  $1.25;  50  lbs., 
$2.00;  100  lbs.,  $3.50.     Large  quantities,  prices  on  application. 

Peruvian  Guano  Substitute.  For  potatoes  and  all  vege- 
tables. Since  it  is  difficult  to  procure  pure  Peruvian  Guano, 
we  recommend  this  brand  as  a  good,  all-round  fertilizer.  5 
per  cent,  ammonia,  6  per  cent,  available  phosphoric  acid,  7 
per  cent,  potash.  50  lbs.,  $1.50;  100  lbs.,  $2.50;  sack  of  200 
lbs.,  $4.00;  ton,  $36.00. 

Potato  Manure.  One  of  the  most  successful  potato  ma- 
nures ever  put  on  the  market.  Its  great  potash  content 
makes  it  valuable  for  use  on  all  root  crops,  also  on  fruit 
lands.  It  works  well  on  grass  and  fruit  in  connection  with 
bone  meal,  and  makes  a  valuable  and  lasting  top-dressing. 
2  per  cent,  ammonia,  5  per  cent.  Av.  Ph.  Acid,  10  per  cent, 
potash.     Per  sack,  200  lbs.,  $3.50;  per  ton,  $28.00. 

Sheep  Manure,  Pulverized.  A  pure  natural  manure,  un- 
equalled for  mixing  with  potting  soil  for  lawns,  general 
vegetable  and  flower  garden  fertilizer,  for  making  liquid 
manure  water  or  for  any  purpose  where  quick  as  well  as 
lasting  results  are  wanted.  2-lb.  package,  15  cts.;  5  lbs., 
25  cts.;  10  lbs.,  40  cts.;  25  lbs.,  75  cts.;  50  lbs.,  $1.25;  100  lbs., 
$2.00;  500  lbs.,  $9.00;  1000  lbs.,  $16.00;  ton,  $30.00. 

Tobacco  Stems.  An  indispensable  lawn  covering  for 
winter.  It  not  only  acts  as  a  protector,  but  imparts  large 
quantities  of  ammonia  and  drives  away  insects  and  moles. 
Bbl.,  $1.00;  bale,  $2.00;  ton,  $12.00. 

Wheat  Fertilizer.  This  brand  combines  in  available  form 
the  necessary  elements  for  the  growth  of  all  grain  and  grass. 
Ammonia,  2  per  cent.;  phos.  acid,  8  per  cent.;  potash,  2  per 
cent.;  nitrogen,  1.65  per  cent.  Sacks  of  200  lbs.,  $3.00; 
ton,  $23.50. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

A 

Advantages  of  farm  life 30 

Agriculture  to  be  more  profitable 10,  20,  27,  35 

Aim  to  exceed  the  average 25 

Alfalfa;    hardy    varieties 118 

Apples;   market   demands;   storage 185,  186 

Arguments  for  mixed  farming 11,   16,  159 

Avoid    Single    Crops 51 

B 

Bacteria  of  the  soil 87 

Beef  production    26 

Broomcorn    139 

Butter  marketing    27 

C 

Cabbage   raising    32 

Cattle   feeding    51 

City  men  as  farmers 29,  46,  66,  68 

Chemical  elements  for  plants 85 

Cherries — Late  varieties   safest 183 

Concrete    on    farm 151 

Co-operation    among    farmers 27 

Corn,  how  to  obtain  good  crop 134 

Cow   testing    127,  129 

Crop  combinations  and  diversity 18,  21,  36f  118 

Crop  rotation   19,  34,  82 


298  INDEX 

PAGE 

Crop   succession    38 

Crops — relative   value    14 

D 

Dairy  by-products    130 

Dairy    cows    compared 129 

Dairy  management  and  profits 25,  37,   114,  124,   127 

Dates   for  planting  vegetables 39,  291 

Deep   plowing    100 

Diversity  reduces  risk 17,  20 

Duck   raising    259 

E 

Earning  capacity  of  land 18,  40,  53,  72 

Education    for   the    farm 23 

Egg  preservation    256 

Egg  production    244,  249 

Egg   type   in   hens . .  . .  • 252 

Exports    and    prosperity 12 

F 

Farm  facilities  improving 10 

Farm  home  betterment 10,  33 

Farm  hours  too  long;  labor 15,  17,  22,  31,  35 

Farm  improvements  a  vital  question 12 

Farm  life  more  hopeful 22 

Farm  work  irksome 9,  10 

Farmer  lacks  selling  knowledge 9,  26,  27,  70,  76,  115 

Farming  opportunities 9,  30,  46,  63 

Farms  are  too  large 12 

Fertilizers    295 

Floriculture;  commercial  value 31,  61,  214 

Fodder  crops;  new  122,  123 


INDEX  299 

PAGE 

Forage  problem 117 

Fruit  farming;  suits  amateurs 48,  56,  65,  171,  176,  183 

G 

Gardening  a  source  of  profit 21,  200 

Grain  yield  in  Europe 24,  36,  80,  143 

Grain  yield  low 24,  36 

H 

Honey  production   50,  235 

Hotbeds  and  coldframes 221 

Humus  for  land  betterment 81 

I 

Insect  pests;  remedies 225,  232,  293 

Insecticides   293 

Investments  in  the  country 30 

Irrigation   by   wells 148 

L 

Labor  problem  on  farm 15,  17,  21,  22,  31,  35 

Legumes  benefit  land 85,  96,  122 

Lime  a  farming  adjunct 81 

Little  farms  of  Europe 53 

Location    important    20 

M 

Manure;  value  of  liquid 45,  93 

Moneymaking  ideas  25 

O 

Onion  growing   168 

Orchard  heating  183 

P 

Parasites   cause  loss 266 

Parcels  post  aids  farmers 77 


300  INDEX 

PAGE 

Pasture  waste 41 

Phosphorus   an  essential 83 

Pickles     164 

Population  changes    36 

Pork  production   25,  26,   108 

Potatoes  36,  102,  202 

Poultry  diseases  and   remedies 270 

Poultry  management  49,  244,  274 

Prices  of  farm  products 11 

Profit  sharing  61,  64 

Profits  in  novelties 159 

Pruning  important   176 

S 

Silo   construction   and   use 155 

Small  fruits  pay  187,  196 

Soil  improvement   80,  98 

Strawberries,   early  and  late 192,   197 

Sugar   beets    142 

Sweet  potatoes    106 

T 
Turkey   raising    263 

W 

Weeds  cause  work  and  loss 24 

Weeds   have   market   value 163 

Women    farmers     73 

Y 
Young  people  on  farm 9,  12,  22,  33,  57,  67,  161 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


FEB  241935 

LD  21-100m-8,'34 

)0  net  " 


—\ 


272034 

E 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


1 


